


Citizen Hawkins

by segerge



Series: TASK FORCE [62]
Category: HERO Champions
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-22 00:07:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7410586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/segerge/pseuds/segerge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(August 2015 - November 2016) The 2016 Presidential Campaign in the TASK FORCE universe.  Julie vs. David 'Invictus' Sutherland vs. Bernie Sanders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Run Begins

**Author's Note:**

> **warnings** : politics, too many media articles, nowhere near enough action sequences
> 
> * * *
> 
> #### DRAMATIS PERSONAE
> 
> **heroes**
> 
>   * Julie Dormyer Hawkins (AKA Ladyhawk), Republican candidate for President of the United States, disgustingly-powerful ninja with latent powers of temporal visualization
>   * Dr. Bob Hawkins (AKA Starforce I), husband of Julie Hawkins, disgustingly-powerful power-armor wearer/gadgeteer
>   * Dr. Matthew Fuseli (AKA Biomaster), mutant neurokinetic manipulator and reformed master supervillain
> 

> 
> **villains**
> 
>   * Sir Edgar Lancelyn Essec, Supreme Serpent of VIPER
> 

> 
> **others**
> 
>   * Shina Arikawa, head of domestic staff for Dormyer Manor (Julie's 'Alfred')
>   * Tyrone Williams (AKA Smiley), leader of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Ralph Hendricks (AKA Curly), member of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Jason Kayami (AKA Ghostbane), retired superhero, member of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Sofia Guiterrez, member of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Nathan Hawkins (AKA Relativity), son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, speedster
>   * Laura Hawkins (AKA Chrona), daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, time-elemental
>   * James Hawkins, son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, gadgeteer
>   * Jillian Hawkins, daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, cyberkinetic
> 

> 
> **AUTHOR'S NOTE 1** : Telepathy is denoted by (( )), internal monologue by [[ ]]
> 
>  **AUTHOR'S NOTE 2** : Julie fills the campaigns/roles which in our universe were filled by Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Carly Fiorina.
> 
> * * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II, Lakewood Village, TX. One day after the Epilogue of 'Mechanon, Inc.')

(Bob 'Starforce' Hawkins enters the Breakfast Nook while Julie 'Ladyhawk' Hawkins is eating breakfast)

 **Starforce** (incredulous, holding his tablet up): "Did you see the news from Iran overnight?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Your brother tweeted me about it."

 **Starforce** (beat): "What?"

(Julie holds her tablet up to Bob, open to her Twitter app. The tweet she has been reading is from @theRealWarlord and says, "You're welcome.")

(Bob's mouth drops open in shock)

 **Ladyhawk** (deadpan): "At least I don't have to worry about answering questions about the _Maxim_ photoshoot anymore."

* * *

("Hawkins Gaffes Right Out of the Gate", _Politico_ , 8/18/2015)

"Newly-announced Republican presidential candidate Julie Dormyer Hawkins hesitated today to condemn Central Asian President Sergei Varinnikov for his nation's orbital bombardment of alleged Iranian nuclear weapons manufacturing sites, saying "His country acted where the rest of the so-called civilized world refused to do so"..."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. 9/1/2015)

(Julie comes out of the Dining Room, where she has been running some sims as Bob comes out of the Library. She looks nervous)

 **Starforce** (embracing Julie): "Why do you look nervous?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "My Secret Service detail is going to be here momentarily."

 **Starforce** : "Well, they're sort of mandatory now that you're an official Presidential candidate..."

 **Ladyhawk** (interrupting): "But I've been a superheroine! I've *never* needed something like this before."

(the doorbell rings. Shina Arikawa glides past them with a nod of acknowledgement, checks outside, then opens the door)

 **Shina** : "Konichiwa! I am Shina Arikawa, head of domestic staff at Dormyer Manor. Please, make yourselves at home!"

(four Secret Service agents follow Shina into the foyer. Bob and Julie immediately recognize Jason 'Ghostbane' Kayami as one of the four, and looks of shocked amazement cross both their faces. An impressively-muscular black man about Bob's height steps forward to Julie)

 **Agent** : "Ma'am? I'm Tyrone Williams, and I'll be in charge of your Secret Service detail. My friends call me 'Smiley'."

(Smiley's flint-hard facial expression has yet to show any emotion during his introduction)

 **Ladyhawk** (shaking his hand): "I'm honored." (beat, nodding toward the rest of the detail) "I only know one other member of your detail. Who are the others?"

 **Smiley** (indicating the 6'7" bald and impressively-muscular Anglo next to him): "This is Ralph Hendricks."

 **Ralph** : "You can call me 'Curly.'"

 **Starforce** : "Okay..."

 **Smiley** (indicating the Hispanic-looking amazon): "This is Sofia Guiterrez."

 **Sofia** (smiling): "No code name. Sorry."

(both Bob and Julie chuckle)

 **Smiley** : "And you both have met Jason Kayami."

 **Starforce** (to Jason): "How did you get involved with the Secret Service?"

 **Ghostbane** : "A very obscure provision of the law establishing the Secret Service allows them to contract out protection duties to trusted and qualifying superhumans."

 **Smiley** : "Because of her past history, Mrs. Hawkins requires a superhuman on her protection detail. Mr. Kayami came *very* highly recommended."

 **Ladyhawk** (to Jason): "Ted?"

(Jason nods)

 **Smiley** : "Your remaining children in-house are James and Jillian, correct?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Yes."

 **Starforce** : "Nathan and Laura both moved out last year."

 **Smiley** : "As their work or schooling take them away from the property here, one of us will be with each of them at all times. The remaining two will be with Mrs. Hawkins as she campaigns. I will be rotating agent assignments on a daily basis depending on everyone's schedule."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Thank you."

 **Smiley** : "Is there anything you wish to tell me which I and my detail will need to know?"

(Bob and Julie look at each other nervously, then at Jason)

 **Ghostbane** : "If you're going to show them what I *think* you are, Mrs. H., they'll need to know."

 **Ladyhawk** (beat): "Oookay, then. I need all of you to come with me and Dr. Hawkins, please. There is something which you will need to know about my campaign which I insist you *not* share even with your superiors."

 **Smiley** (beat): "That's... irregular, Mrs. Hawkins."

 **Ladyhawk** : "You'll understand when I show you. Follow me, please?"

(she leads her Secret Service detail into the Library and locks the door behind them all)

* * *

(excerpt from "Republican Party Presidential Debates and Forums 2016", Simi Valley CA debate of 9/16/2015, _en.wikipedia.org_ )

"...The primary focus of the debate was on Julie Dormyer Hawkins, who had formally entered the race for President after the Cleveland debate in August. After the debate, most analysts believed that she successfully solidified her newfound status as a top-tier candidate, and successfully defended herself against all attacks. Marco Rubio was also largely viewed as the other strong performer of the night, and both Hawkins' and Rubio's poll numbers began to increase significantly in the wake of this debate.[63][64] Additional candidates who received praise included Mike Huckabee and Chris Christie, while former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Ohio governor John Kasich were largely criticized. Notable exchanges in the debate were Bush vs Hawkins on her business record, Hawkins vs Paul on the latter's senatorial record, Hawkins vs Bush on immigration, womens health issues, and foreign policy, as well as Christie and Bush against Paul on marijuana legalization. [65][66] This was the second and final debate appearance by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who dropped out of the race five days later, saying that the subsequent decrease of his own poll numbers and fundraising were largely due to his two debate performances being largely panned by commentators..."

* * *

("Sex Traitor: the Progressive Movement's New Perjorative", _Wall Street Journal_ , 9/28/2015)

"Live on his award-winning show 'Millennials Voice', MSNBC personality Ronan O'Connell shocked his viewers and awed his studio audience when he boldly proclaimed that Republican Presidential hopeful Julie Dormyer Hawkins couldn't possibly be a woman because she was a Republican..."

* * *

("Ladyhawk's First Scalp", _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 9/30/2015)

"Six months ago, Ronan O'Connell was MSNBC's Golden Boy. Articulate and photogenic, he was highly-touted by the network as the new voice of the Millennial Generation.

"Today, MSNBC announced that Mr. O'Connell was being placed on an indefinite leave of absence and his show 'Millennials Voice' was being cancelled. Though no explanation was offered by network executives, both moves are believed to be in reaction to the firestorm the young news personality touched off on Monday when he said that retired superheroine, billionaire high-tech tycoon, and presdential candidate Julie Dormyer Hawkins couldn't possibly be a woman because she was a Republican...

"'If Mr. O'Connell can find the courage and maturity to offer a public apology to me, I will take it under advisement,' Mrs. Hawkins said to reporters after a campaign rally in Mason City, Iowa, 'Until that happens, however, I will treat him and his network with all the respect that they deserve.'

"Executives at NBC/Universal had no additional comment, nor do they have an estimate for when either their phone system or their email servers will be back online."

* * *

("The Real Lessons of the CNBC Debate", _CNN.com_ , 11/2/2015)

"...Having seen what can go right and wrong in these settings, I heartily agree with critics who say that the CNBC team committed unforgivable errors. The two most serious problems were the failure to establish a controlled tone to the discussion and the constant interruption of candidates trying to respond to questions or interject a thought or a rebuttal.

"It's critical in a debate with so many candidates to have questioners firmly establish what will and won't be allowed. CNBC didn't follow that rule -- in fact, it did something close to the opposite by rotating questioners on and off the panel with no apparent rhyme or reason.

"Jim Cramer, Rick Santelli and other network personalities would show up, ask a few questions and then vanish. That destroyed any hope of connecting different ideas and themes between the beginning, middle and end of the debate.

"Even worse were the moderators' interruption of candidates in midthought or midsentence, and the bickering that ensued. The formal framework of a televised political debate -- the rules about the length of time permitted for responses and rebuttals -- should never be treated as strict limits on candidates. The guidelines are the means to an important end: getting a robust discussion going that fleshes out important issues.

"Once the discussion gets going, the moderator should step out of the way and let the candidates talk for a few minutes until the issue has been thoroughly aired. If others want to jump in along the way to rebut points or argue against an opponent, they should be allowed to do so.

"A final self-inflicted wound by CNBC was the uneven quality of the questions, starting with the very first one. "Tell us your biggest weakness, in 30 seconds" was a ludicrous way to open a debate about the future of the country -- which was deservedly skewered by retired superheroine Julie Dormyer Hawkins in a surprisingly passionate and articulate response..."

* * *

(excerpt from "Republican Party Presidential Debates and Forums 2016", Milwaukee, WI debate of 11/10/2015, _en.wikipedia.org_ )

"The fourth debate was held on November 10, 2015, at the Milwaukee Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, airing on the Fox Business Network and sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. This debate focused on jobs, taxes, and the general health of the U.S. economy, as well as on domestic and international policy issues. The moderators were Neil Cavuto, Maria Bartiromo and Gerard Baker.[99]

"To participate in the main debate, a candidate needed to have an average of at least 2.5% in the four most recent recognized national polls conducted through November 4.[99] Candidates who failed to reach that average but who scored at least 1% in any of those four polls were invited to the secondary debate, which was moderated by Sandra Smith, Trish Regan, and the Wall Street Journal′s Washington bureau chief, Gerald Seib.[99]

"The official debate lineup was unveiled on November 5. This lineup noticeably differed from previous lineups in several significant ways: For the first time in the debate season, there were fewer than ten candidates in the primetime lineup; that consists of six candidates: [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins, Carson, Rubio, Bush, Kasich, and Paul.[100] Also, over half of the original set of lower-tier candidates polling less than 1% were excluded from the undercard debate due to failing to reach at least 1% in some polls, those being Graham, Pataki, and Gilmore. Thus, the lower-tier debate lineup instead featured Christie and Huckabee - both removed from the main stage for the first time - alongside previous lower-tier candidates Santorum and Jindal.[101] Notable exchanges included Hawkins vs Kasich and Bush on immigration, Hawkins vs Bush on VIPER, Hawkins vs Paul on Russia, and Rubio vs Paul on the formers tax plan as well as military spending..."

* * *

("The ISIS Effect", _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 12/23/2015)

"...The dramatic infusion of terrorism and national security into the contest in recent weeks has transformed the race for president, particularly on the Republican side. [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins, who personally killed Fiacho during Eurostar's ill-fated terrorist attack at the Davos Conference in January, is not the only beneficiary of the "ISIS Effect." Chris Christie, who in the last debate stressed his experience in prosecuting Islamic terrorists after 9/11, has also seen his numbers rise..."

* * *

("The New(s) Campaign", _US News and World Report_ , 12/31/2015)

"The rules governing presidential campaigns are being rewritten in fundamental ways for the 2016 election, and Republican front-runner Julie Dormyer Hawkins is generating much of the change.

"Hawkins, a multi-billionaire high-tech tycoon and retired superheroine, says she is largely financing her own campaign and not relying on big donors or special interests, which is unusual in itself. But she is also plowing new ground because she has based her effort so far not on paid advertising or a huge staff – which saves her money – but on free media. She has been able to generate endless news coverage in the mainstream media almost at will and is a huge presence on social media, including Twitter and Instagram..."

* * *

("The ProStar Presidential Primary?" _Ars Technica_ , 12/31/2015)

"Republican presidential front-runner Julie Dormyer Hawkins' experience with managing bleeding-edge high technology may be paying dividends beyond her effortless dominance of the news cycle. It is no secret that her campaign staff consists mostly of artificial-intelligence units built by her husband, retired superhero and Nobel Laureate Bob Hawkins, and programmed by the best experts in defense planning, economics, and other fields which she can afford. Darker rumors, however, circulate of secret teleportation units underneath her mansion outside of Dallas, TX -- which if true would explain her almost superhuman travel schedule across both Iowa and New Hampshire..."

* * *

("The Republican Establishment's Civil War", Peggy Noonan, _Wall Street Journal_ , 1/8/2016)

"...But issues do matter, and Mrs. Hawkins has functioned this year both as a great communicator and as a great disruptor. She brags that she has brought up great questions and forced other candidates to face them and sometimes change their stands — and she has. She changed the debate on illegal immigration. She said she’d order her husband to build a forcewall and close the border and as the months passed and her competitors saw her surge, they too were suddenly, clearly, aggressively for ending illegal immigration.

"Mrs. Hawkins also touched an important nerve in opposing the political correctness that has angered the American people for a quarter century. She changed the debate when she asked for a pause in Muslim immigration until America “can figure out what’s going on.” In the age of terror, that looked suspiciously like common sense. Americans do not want America to become what Europe is becoming..."

* * *

("Psychoanalyzing Ladyhawk Hatred", _RedState.com_ , 1/13/2016)

"...The anger at [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins is more than just the result of the feeling that she has betrayed her class by seeking the approval of the rubes in flyover country. The vitriol tossed towards her indicates that her vision of a corrupt establishment that has forfeited the Mandate of Heaven strikes too close to home. What is worse is that they know they are dealing with an honest woman who believes in what she preaches. Unlike many of her critics, she does not mouth platitudes then sneer at the people who support her..."

* * *

("The Deal with the Clinton Devil Is Over", _Washington Times_ , 1/13/2016)

"...Republican candidate Julie Dormyer Hawkins does not play by anybody else’s rules, least of all Clinton-enforced ones, but apparently no one has informed Mrs. Clinton. So she gleefully and blindly launched an attack on her “aiding and abetting sexism” following Hawkins' appearance on the cover of _Maxim_ last July.

"You could almost see Mrs. Hawkins’ rhetorical throwing arm wind up toward Clinton before she threw her energy shurikens. “Be careful,” she warned on Twitter. And then, on MSNBC, she blasted Bill Clinton as “one of the greatest abusers of women in history,” adding, “Hillary is an enabler.” She then released an Internet ad tying Hillary to the sex scandals of her husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (husband of her closest aide, Huma Abedin) and Bill Cosby.

"She dared to go where no traditional politician would — hitting the Clintons’ grotesque hypocrisy — and made it acceptable to question both Clintons’ character and judgment on women’s issues. Suddenly, Mrs. Clinton — self-styled champion of women and girls — came under criticism, particularly from news organizations such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, MSNBC and others that have long protected both Clintons..."

* * *

(VIPER World Headquarters, somewhere in the Mbang Mountains of western Africa. 1/13/2016)

(an agent comes into Sir Edgar 'Supreme Serpent' Essec's Office bearing an iPad)

 **Essec** : "Your report?"

 **Agent** (handing Essec the iPad): "Here, sir."

(Essec takes the iPad and scrolls through it)

 **Essec** : "This goes back all the way to last August."

 **Agent** : "That is when Mrs. Hawkins announced her candidacy for President, Supreme Serpent."

 **Essec** (absently): "Silence."

(he scrolls through the tablet's report for a minute)

 **Essec** : "WHY weren't her intentions caught last year?"

 **Agent** : "No one in the political analysis branch believed her candidacy to be serious."

 **Essec** : "Replace them." (beat) "What about since her announcement?"

 **Agent** : "Her campaign's actions have defied rational analysis, Supreme Serpent."

 **Essec** : "How so?"

 **Agent** : 'Her campaign *should* have ended the moment MSNBC host Ronan O'Connell questioned her motivations last September." (beat) "Instead, it was HIS career that ended and hers that advanced."

 **Essec** : "Intriguing." (beat) "Any explanation as to why?"

 **Agent** : "It would appear that the American public does not share the morals of VIPER leadership."

 **Essec** (deadpan): "I wonder why." (beat) "Is there anything else which might be important to VIPER leadership?"

 **Agent** (touching his iPad): "Only the following articles."

 **Essec** : "Show me."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II, Lakewood Village, TX. Simultaneous with previous scene)

(Bob 'Starforce' Hawkins buttons up one of the pillars of the portal generator and gets to his feet)

 **Starforce** : "House? Diagnostics on the portal generator, please."

 ****(a series of semi-musical notes that would be familiar to anyone who watched _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ sound in the air)

 **House AI** : "All generator systems show green."

 **Starforce** : "Excellent." (beat, walking back to the control console) "When does the next transport window open?"

 **House AI** : "Fifteen seconds ago."

 **Starforce** : "Aw, CRAP! Engage portal, last coordinates!"

 **House AI** : "Engaging portal, targeting Cedar Rapids."

(a familiar pinkish swirl shimmers into existence between the pillars of the portal generator. Beat, then Julie 'Ladyhawk' Hawkins steps through, followed by today's detail Curly and Ghostbane)

 **Ladyhawk** : "You're LATE, Nerd-boy!"

 **Starforce** : "The portal's been getting more of a workout the past six months than it ever got when we were trying to catch Doctor Destroyer. I need to keep on top of its maintenance just so you don't get stranded at an inopportune time. Or place."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Starforce** : "How's your day been, Ninjette?"

 **Ladyhawk** (sighing): "Hectic. Three more stops across Iowa before the debate dry run tonight." (beat) "Couldn't the maintenance window have waited until after you portaled me to Charleston tomorrow?"

 **Starforce** : "Diagnostics flagged a transducer coil that was about to fail. *That* couldn't wait."

 **Ladyhawk** (beat): "Oh."

 **Starforce** (walking up to her to hug her): "Dinner, tonight?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Talk to me after my last speech today."

(she breaks the embrace almost as soon as it starts. Bob looks confused and hurt for a second)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Where to, Nerd-boy?"

 **Starforce** : "Uhh..." (beat) "Avon Lake. Southeast of Des Moines."

 **Ladyhawk** (turning to the portal): "Then fire it up."

(she can't see the confused expression on Bob's face as he fires the portal up with its latest coordinates)

* * *

("Ladyhawk Starts to Crack GOP Establishment's Wall of Opposition", _New York Times_ , 1/14/2016)

"Striding up the sidewalk of one of [New Orleans]’s most affluent neighborhoods on Monday evening, S. Scott Sewell seemed an unlikely figure to be attending a meet-and-greet for Julie Dormyer Hawkins. An oil industry executive, Mr. Sewell served in President George Bush’s administration, lent a hand to George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential recount, and was twice a chairman for Mitt Romney’s Louisiana campaigns.

"But if such a creature of the Republican establishment appeared an odd fit to support a candidate whose political identity was shaped over the decades she spent saving the world as a superheroine, the art-filled setting for Mrs. Hawkins’ reception was even more surprising: the elegant home of the longtime Bush loyalist Mary Matalin and her husband, James Carville, the Democratic strategist.

"The vast majority of Republican elites remain bitterly opposed to the prospect of Mrs. Hawkins becoming the party’s presidential nominee. Yet, to the strains of a jazz trio a block from St. Charles Avenue here, over Texas barbecue at her mansion north of Dallas, and in one of Washington’s see-and-be-seen steakhouses, Mrs. Hawkins has quietly begun wooing some of the party’s most entrenched donors and officials..."

* * *

("Invictus' Hail Mary", _Huffington Post_ , 1/14/2016)

"Critics of Maryland Governor David Sutherland's recent ad buy in Iowa courting supporters of Hillary Clinton mocked the retired superhero's efforts, calling it the last gasp of a failed campaign.

"With polls from AP/Ipsos to Quinnipac showing Gov. Sutherland's message now gaining traction among the former Secretary of State's key constituents, no one is laughing now. What just one month ago was Clinton's race to lose has now become too close to call between her, Sutherland, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders..."

* * *

("The Reasons for Ladyhawk's Rise", Victor Davis Hanson, _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 1/14/2016)

"...[Julie Dormyer] Hawkins does not play by any political rules because she has never had any time or tolerance for them. A superheroine is less bothered by an anchorman's raised brow than she is by a supervillain's fist.

"How does the establishment derail an out-of-control train for whom there are no gaffes, who has no fear of the New York Times, who offers no apologies for speaking what much of the country thinks -- and who apparently needs neither money from Republicans nor politically correct approval from Democrats?"

* * *

("Republican Sharks Circle Ladyhawk for First Debate of 2016", _AFP wire_ , 1/14/2016)

"...Rivals are scrambling to keep up, or knock [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins off course.

"She will be joined on stage Thursday by charismatic Florida Senator Marco Rubio, her nearest competitor; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson; New Jersey Governor Chris Christie; Florida's ex-governor Jeb Bush; and Ohio Governor John Kasich.

"Party leaders have made it clear they are worried about Hawkins's impact in November, not just on the presidential election but crucial congressional races.

"They see Hawkins as unable to unite conservatives and moderates enough to help Republicans keep control of both chambers of Congress..."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Evening of 1/14/2016)

(It's the watch party for the Republican Presidential Debate in Charleston, SC. Matt 'Biomaster' Fuseli has joined the rest of Clan Hawkins in the Great Room to watch the festivities)

 **Biomaster** : "So will she be continuing her attacks on the Media that she started at the CNBC debate?"

 **Starforce** : "That's how she programmed her sim last night for the dry run."

 **Biomaster** : "That doesn't seem right, for some reason."

(Nathan 'Relativity' Hawkins grabs a soft drink off the table next to him while his brother James replenishes his bowl of chips)

 **Relativity** : "For what it's worth, most political analysts I've read agree with you." (beat) "So do my poly sci professors."

 **James** : "Polling data I've been compiling shows that Mom's choice of targets was correct. Her numbers really started to take off after the October debate."

(Jillian 'Firewall' Hawkins is curled up next to her twin brother with her gaming laptop as Laura 'Chrona' Hawkins finally joins the rest of the watch party)

 **Firewall** (focused on the laptop): "Lies, damn lies, and statistics, bro."

 **Chrona** (sitting down): "Hush, guys! They're introducing the candidates!"

* * *

(Republican Presidential Debate, Charleston, SC. Ten minutes later)

(MSNBC Anchor and debate moderator John Englewood is attempting to influence the 2016 Presidential election)

 **Englewood** : "Mrs. Hawkins, when would you go to war?"

(awkward pause)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Before I would do that, I would make it my administration's top priority to find out what medications you're taking so my FDA can ban those drugs. NOBODY can be as stupid as you just demonstrated you are without chemical assistance!"

(some gasps of shock, some laughter, some applause)

 **Ladyhawk** : "If you had ever bothered to spend some of your life in the military, John, you'd know that you NEVER tell your enemy when you're going to attack." (beat, to the live camera) "As President, I promise America that I will NEVER betray our military solely to earn brownie points with the media!"

(thunderous applause)

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. One second later)

 **Starforce** : "You have got to be kidding me!"

 **Biomaster** : "This is what apparently passes for political discourse in our nation today, Robert

* * *

(Republican Presidential Debate, Charleston, SC. Five minutes later)

 **Bush** : "While I and the rest of the world thanks Mrs. Hawkins for her decades of service as a superheroine, I have to criticize her approach to dealing with matters of foreign policy. You simply *can't* arm-wrestle President Putin for the fate of the Ukraine!"

(laughter and applause. Julie smiles)

 **Englewood** : "Mrs. Hawkins, your response?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "I think the governor is jealous, because of all the candidates here tonight I am the only one who *could* arm-wrestle Vladimir Putin for the fate of the Ukraine."

(more shrieks of laughter and applause)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing, smiling): "And if Mr. Putin is foolish enough to demand a rematch, I'll throw in Dagestan as well."

(the audience roars its approval as they give her a standing ovation)

* * *

(Republican Presidential Debate, Charleston, SC. Five minutes later)

(Julie is answering a question concerning illegal immigration)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Are our ruling elite really throwing our borders open to refugees out of altruism? Or are the Chamber of Commerce members who are writing checks to their re-election campaigns just that desperate for slave labor to grow their own profits and keep their lawns manicured?"

(shouts of protest from half the other candidates on the stage are drowned out by cheers from the audience)

 **Englewood** : "Mrs. Hawkins, I must insist..."

 **Ladyhawk** (interrupting): "I've met some Chamber of Commerce members. Trust me, after looking at *their* physiques it wouldn't kill them if they learned how to do their own lawn work!"

(standing ovation from the crowd for a minute)

* * *

(Republican Presidential Debate, Charleston, SC. Five minutes later)

(MSNBC Anchor John Englewood has indulged in a long, rambling commentary that sort of may be a question concerning Julie's alleged racism for the past half-minute)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Let me jump in while you catch your breath, Mr. Englewood. Are you trying to ask me a question, or are you just grandstanding for the cameras?"

(thunderous applause. The moderator looks over his shoulder in disgust at the debate audience, then sighs as the applause dies down)

 **Englewood** : "Could you address the multiple charges of racism which have been leveled against you regarding your immigration policy?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "You mean, like the ones coming from all the protests at college campuses across our nation?"

 **Englewood** : "Among others."

 **Ladyhawk** (sultry): "You almost sounded sarcastic there, John. Keep working on it." (beat, while a wave of laughter and applause sweeps the audience) "I feel no need to defend myself against the whining hyperventilation of inexperienced and stupid people whose *only* qualification for adulthood is their date of birth."

(the gasp of shock from a third of the audience is overwhelmed by a roaring, standing ovation from the other two-thirds)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing): "Would a racist spend her entire adult life saving our nation, our world, and everyone -- regardless of their skin color or creed -- who lived in them from supervillains?"

(cheering. Julie silences the audience)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing): "Would a racist accept a contract job from extraterrestrials to help protect the entire Galaxy?"

(more cheering)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Would a racist use the money from that contract to then go into impoverished urban areas and give people meaningful, well-paying jobs so they too can enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?"

(still more cheering)

 **Ladyhawk** (looking at the active camera): "If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions, then I'm sorry. You're an idiot, and I can't help you. Neither can the Government, despite what you have been told and taught otherwise."

(standing ovation)

 **Englewood** : "Governor Christie, your response?"

 **Christie** : "Insulting the American people won't win you elections, Mrs. Hawkins..."

 **Ladyhawk** (interrupting, jerking a thumb over one shoulder toward the moderators): "Don't tell *me* that. Tell the Democrats running our debate!"

(the auditorium shakes under the audience's roar of approval)

* * *

(Republican Presidential Debate, Charleston, SC. Five minutes later)

 **Englewood** : "Mrs. Hawkins, many people have voiced their fears that your husband, the acknowledged son of the worst supervillain in human history, is running a proxy campaign for President by using you as a surrogate..."

(a loud, obnoxious smartphone ring interrupts from somewhere inside Julie's jacket)

 **Ladyhawk** (interrupting the moderator): "Excuse me one moment."

(if anyone had been paying attention, they would have noticed that she had stuck her hand into her jacket just before her phone went off. She now pulls her smartphone out and, flipping her hair off her ear to clear it, holds the phone up to it)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Hello?" (beat) "Yes, just a moment."

(grabbing her mike with her other hand, she walks toward the moderator)

 **Englewood** : "Mrs. Hawkins, this is MOST irregular..."

 **Ladyhawk** (holding her smartphone out): "It's for you."

 **Englewood** (confused): "Excuse me?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "It's the 90's. They'd like their paranoia about my husband back, if you don't mind."

(the audience responds with laughter, raucous cheering, and applause)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing to the audience while returning to her podium): "In the *twenty* years in which he was persecuted for the crime of being Doctor Destroyer's son, my husband saved Earth's dimension TWICE, helped kill the man impersonating his father, and helped capture and incarcarate his own father in the process! HARDLY the actions of a man despicable enough to use his wife as a proxy to run for President. I for one am *perfectly* satisfied with the content of Bob Hawkins' character." (waits for the applause to die down, then smiling and sultry) "Among other things."

(whoops and thunderous cheering during a standing ovation. She lets it go for a moment, then calms the audience down)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing): "But enough about my husband." (suddenly giving the moderator a Kubrick stare) "Let's talk about what you just tried to ask me. Are you and your colleagues so unashamedly *sexist* as to believe that I am INCAPABLE of leading a Presidential campaign on my own, much less BE President?"

(gasps of shock from the audience)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing, contemptuous): "You disgust me. Go crawl back under the rock you came out from."

(shouts of approval from the audience. The moderator looks over his shoulder, partly in nervousness for what the audience might do to him physically)

 **Englewood** (indicating the other candidates): "Uh, your response?"

(awkward pause. Julie folds her arms and diverts her Kubrick stare to her fellow candidates. Senator Rubio finally speaks)

 **Rubio** : "I agree with Mrs. Hawkins. Anyone who thinks that her husband is using her as a proxy thinks that women are incapable of being President and deserve to be called out for that belief."

(standing ovation. Julie smiles sweetly at the moderator)

 **Ladyhawk** (internal monologue, to the moderator): [[I own you, and I don't even need money]]


	2. The Primaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **warnings** : politics, too many media articles, still not enough action sequences
> 
> * * *
> 
> #### DRAMATIS PERSONAE
> 
> **heroes**
> 
>   * Julie Dormyer Hawkins (AKA Ladyhawk), Republican candidate for President of the United States, disgustingly-powerful ninja with latent powers of temporal visualization
>   * Dr. Bob Hawkins (AKA Starforce I), husband of Julie Hawkins, disgustingly-powerful power-armor wearer/gadgeteer
> 

> 
> **villains**
> 
>   * David Sutherland (AKA Invictus), Governor of Maryland and Democratic nominee for President of the United States, brick/energy projector
>   * Sir Edgar Lancelyn Essec, Supreme Serpent of VIPER
>   * Roger Essec, nephew of Sir Edgar, member of VIPER's Council of 30
>   * Henrietta Von Drotte, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Duchess Industries, member of VIPER's Council of 30
>   * Arthur Bolton (D-NY), Senior Senator from New York, member of VIPER's Council of 30
> 

> 
> **others**
> 
>   * Tyrone Williams (AKA Smiley), leader of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Ralph Hendricks (AKA Curly), member of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
> 

> 
> **AUTHOR'S NOTE 1** : Telepathy is denoted by (( )), internal monologue by [[ ]]
> 
>  **AUTHOR'S NOTE 2** : David Sutherland replaces Martin O'Malley on the Democratic side of the campaign.
> 
> * * *

("Ladyhawk vs. the Media," _Vox.com_ , 1/17/2016)

"...It is a matter of faith among journalists that they are the final guardians of American democracy. Walter Cronkite speaking truth to power about America's war in Vietnam and Woodward and Bernstein bringing Nixon down for Watergate are all the proof they need of the Fourth Estate's position in modern society. It may have been this faith which prompted MSNBC anchor John Englewood to attempt at Charleston what he felt the Republican Presidential field was too incompetent to accomplish by themselves -- derailing Republican Presidential front-runner Julie Dormyer Hawkins.

"If he is lucky, Englewood will only pay for his attempt with his sanity.

"MSNBC announced today that Englewood is on an indefinite leave of absence due to what was described as 'unspecified medical issues.' Anyone who saw and heard the humiliation, verbal evisceration, and outright emotional abuse Mrs. Hawkins targeted him with on Thursday night has a pretty good idea what those medical issues are..."

* * *

("Tactics of a Retired Superheroine," _Wall Street Journal_ , 1/18/2016)

"...among [Julie Dormyer Hawkins'] many decisions which have defied conventional wisdom this election cycle, perhaps the most puzzling was during the CNBC-sponsored October debate when she decided that her real opponent wasn't the rest of the Republican field for President but rather the media. Critics at the time derided her strategic shift, claiming it was proof that her campaign was bereft of ideas and that it would sink her insurgent campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination.

"Her critics also forgot that she spent most of her adult life as a superheroine, having to make rapid decisions and threat assessments in the heat of battle. Mrs. Hawkins was forged in a crucible that very few in the media understand today -- a crucible which may yet prove to be one uniquely qualified to create a President..."

* * *

("The Doctor Destroyer Card," _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 1/18/2016)

"...One needs only look at how she handled the accusation that her husband was using her as a proxy to run for President himself. Combined with the casual mention in the same breath of her own father-in-law, the viewing audience should have been left with the impression of Doctor Destroyer somehow reaching out from his hot-sleep pod somewhere in the Australian Outback to rule America through her. In any other election cycle, against any other Republican candidate, it would have worked.

"This is 2016, though. And the candidate was Julie Dormyer Hawkins

"Her initial response, using her own phone as a prop to say that the 1990's was calling and wanted its paranoia about her husband back, was brilliant for both its sheer audacity and showmanship. Everyone was so busy responding to that performance and her subsequent defense of both her husband's character and sex drive that no one -- especially Mr. Englewood -- saw her real counterattack coming until it was too late...

"...Mrs. Hawkins came across as someone who can take on and defeat the worst the world has to offer. Her husband and his father will never again be used as campaign issues lest those who make the attempt be ostracized by society as sexist. All that it cost was the mental stability of one MSNBC anchor."

* * *

("How Ladyhawk Defeats Hillary," _Politico.com_ , 1/19/2016)

"If Julie Dormyer Hawkins becomes the next president of the United States, there will be plenty of surprises along the way. One of the biggest will be the help she gets from black voters.

"According to Republican pollsters and Hawkins’s allies, the GOP poll-leader — who has been dogged by accusations of racism because of her aggressive anti-immigration stance — is poised to out-perform with this demographic group in a general-election matchup with Hillary Clinton.

"“If she were the Republican nominee she would get a higher percentage of black votes than Ronald Reagan in 1980,” said Republican messaging guru Frank Luntz, referring to the year Reagan won 14 percent of that bloc of voters. “They listen to her. They find her fascinating, and in all the groups I have done, I have found Obama voters, they could’ve voted for Obama twice, but if they’re African-American they would consider Hawkins.”

"Another longtime Republican pollster and veteran of multiple presidential campaigns has tested Hawkins’s appeal to blacks and Hispanics and come to the same conclusion. “She behaves in a way that most minorities would not expect a billionaire to behave,” explained the pollster, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid damaging relationships within the party. “She’s not a white-bread socialite kind of girl.”..."

* * *

("Invictus To Call for Profiling Muslims", _Drudge Report_ , 1/19/2016)

"(DEVELOPING -- MUST CREDIT DRUDGE REPORT) Maryland governor David Sutherland will call for the implementation of a comphrehensive profiling scheme covering Muslims residing in or entering America at a campaign speech today in Ames, Iowa, Drudge Report has just learned..."

* * *

("WEF Hopes For A Return to Normalcy," _telegraph.co.uk_ , 1/20/2016)

"This week, the World Economic Forum convenes its annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, earnestly hoping to avoid the drama and publicity attracted by last year's conference.

"The 2015 Davos Conference was touted as a quiet discussion on the potentials of interstellar trade and plans on how to solve the then-looming Greek debt crisis. Instead, it became one of the biggest news events of the year when Eurostar attempted to assassinate retired superhero Dr. Robert Hawkins. It was a level of publicity the WEF have actively sought to avoid since the annual meeting started in 1971.

"The spectacle of Dr. Hawkins' wife, retired superheroine and then-ProStar Chairman of the Board Julie Dormyer Hawkins, impaling Fiacho with her katana didn't stop with overloading YouTube in the attack's immediate aftermath. It kick-started her political career, which now threatens to upend both the Republican Party and the political status quo of the entire United States..."

* * *

("The Shadow of Manzanar", _Salon.com_ , 1/20/2016)

"...it is a true sign of [Governor David] Sutherland's desperation that he would descend to Julie Dormyer Hawkins' level in an attempt to bolster his sagging presidential campaign. And, it is a true sign of the stupidity and viciousness of the American public, both Republican and Democratic, that they would respond so enthusiastically to such blantantly racist pandering..."

* * *

("Can Democrats Channel America's Discontent?" Harold Meyerson, _The American Prospect_ , 1/20/2016)

"...The ascent of Julie Dormyer Hawkins, who represents something new and ominous in American political life (roughly analogous to George Wallace taking over one of the two parties in 1968), has understandably dominated news coverage in recent months. The Democrats’ move leftward, however, is as fundamental a development as the Republicans’ descent into racism and ultra-rightism. Both are responses to the massive racial shifts in the nation’s demographics, the failure of American capitalism to sustain a vibrant middle class, and the blockage of conventional politics..."

* * *

("National Review Disses Ladyhawk; Why the Magazine's Plan Won't Work", _Fox News Sunday_ , 1/24/2016)

"In a last dash, final "hail mary" attempt to end a Julie Dormyer Hawkins run for the White House once and for all, the National Review has decided to eviscerate the Republican front runner on the basis that she is not a conservative.

"It will not work.

"Publications like National Review, run by elite "conservatives" have given us George W. Bush and his wars, "No Child Left Behind," Medicare Part D, huge deficits caused by Republican consultants spending to woo select voters, Mitt "Romneycare" Romney, John McCain...the list goes on and on...

"...Hawkins's appeal stretches far beyond disgruntled, outside the country club conservatives. Her potential for crossover support, especially with blue collar and working class voters, is huge. Most establishment Republicans have never met a blue collar worker (unless they were fixing their Jacuzzi).

"I can see Hawkins winning coal miners, unionized construction workers, auto workers, steel workers, Teamsters, etc.

"Hawkins may even score a larger share of black votes with her immigration stand. Her appeal to working class voters is a very underreported story, but it's evident because even President Barack Obama himself mentioned Hawkins by name during an interview with NPR in which he said that Hawkins is tapping into the "anger of the blue collar white male."

"This showcases just how scared the left is when it comes to Hawkins's potential to tear into demographics that Democrats have largely considered theirs..."

* * *

("Can Invictus Actually Run to the Right of Ladyhawk?", _Salon_ , 1/25/2016)

"Before Christmas, Maryland Governor David Sutherland was far behind Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Democratic Primary polling. What a difference a month makes.

"By appealing to the same ugly nativist strain that fueled Republican front-runner Julie Dormyer Hawkins, the retired superhero has vaulted to the front of polling averages just one week before the Iowa Caucuses -- a surge which comes at the cost of alienating the young progressive base that propelled Barack Obama to the Presidency twice in the last eight years..."

* * *

("Americans Tired of Elites Considering Them Stupid and Vicious", Michael Barone, _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 1/26/2016)

"...Actually, it's not that hard for ordinary people to keep in mind two different ideas that the elites think they'll find confusing: most terrorists these days are Muslims; and most Muslims are not terrorists. We keep similar things in mind every day. We notice that most dangerously aggressive drivers are men, but most men are not dangerously aggressive drivers.

"Still, dangerous drivers are dangerous. Americans are tired of hearing "Islam is a religion of peace" when for an uncomfortably large minority of Muslims these days it's the opposite. So they have been flocking to Julie Dormyer Hawkins when she calls for banning all Muslims from entering the U.S., and to David Sutherland when he calls for profiling Muslims living in or entering America. And conservatives who in another year would upbraid both for flunking multiple litmus tests are defending them because they dare to utter forbidden truths..."

* * *

("First Read: Julie Dormyer Hawkins in Clear Command of the GOP Race", Chuck Todd, _NBC News_ , 1/26/2016)

"Six days until Iowa, Ladyhawk is in clear command of the GOP race.

"These are words that most political observers, including us, didn't think we'd ever write six months ago: Less than a week before Iowa and two weeks before New Hampshire, Julie Dormyer Hawkins is in clear control of the GOP presidential contest. If you don't want to take our word for it, just look at the polling out of Iowa, where Hawkins has topped the rest of the GOP field combined in the last three polls, including today's new Quinnipiac survey. Look at the situation in New Hampshire, where she's leading the pack by double digits. And Hawkins is lapping the GOP field in national polls. Even numbers-cruncher Nate Silver, who had been skeptical about Hawkins's chances, now gives the retired superheroine better than a 50% chance of winning Iowa. "Everything's coming up Ladyhawk," Silver tweeted..."

* * *

("Why Ladyhawk? Why Now?" Sean Trende, _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 1/29/2016)

"...Which brings us to [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins. If there is anything positive I can say about Hawkins it is this: She gets this cosmopolitan/traditionalist divide, and she is the only candidate who lands foursquare with the traditionalists. She isn’t a fundamentalist, but she gets the whole “why can’t we just say Merry Christmas in supermarkets anymore?” She’s a billionaire, but she gets the anger at wealthy donors that many see as perverting the political system. There’s little doubt that her factories have employed undocumented workers, but she gets the anger at what many see as a foolish unwillingness of this country to “control its borders” as the unwillingness of many in the Republican leadership to take strong, unambiguous stands on these issues (largely as a result of their own discomfort with these stands).

"How did Republicans and the political class respond to Hawkins initially? They made fun of how she talked. Everyone was then surprised when people whose speech patterns are among the only patterns that are still socially appropriate to mock responded by liking Hawkins more (I actually think Hawkins’ Texas drawl is one of her biggest advantages when she uses it). Making fun of her history? Think about this the next time you make fun of your local superhero...

"...We can go down the list of events in the Hawkins campaign since then. Cosmopolitan America sees a strong, moral – frankly ideological – interest in accepting refugees from Syria. Traditionalist America thinks that, after Paris and San Bernandino, this is insane. Which candidate is unafraid to say this unambiguously, without feeling the need to offer caveats? Traditionalist America thinks that the nation that put a man on the moon and built the engines to put them on Mars can “control its borders"; cosmopolitan America at best offers lip service to the need for doing so. Again, how many of the surviving Republican candidates fully side with the traditionalists? Traditionalist America wants to “kick the tires and light the fires” against ISIS/Daesh, and Hawkins shows the video of her killing Fiacho at Davos last year as a promise to ISIS on what to expect from her. Hawkins doesn’t do nuance on these issues, but the cosmopolitan Republican candidates feel the need to..."

* * *

(Excerpts from speech transcript, delivered by Gov. David Sutherland (D-MD), Manchester, NH, 1/31/2016)

"...we had rules in America to keep important information out of the wrong hands! And WHAT did Mrs. Clinton do? She declared herself ABOVE the rules! Rules are for the little people, after all...

"...The Director of the FBI and 160 of his best agents resigned in protest when the Justice Department caved to pressure and refused to indict her. Wrap your heads around those numbers. How many of them had families, or children? How many had dreams of their own? Answer, a lot of them did. I worked with many of them twenty years ago when I was a superhero in the DC area...

"...the Rule of Law is what kept our great nation together for over two centuries! FDR believed in it! JFK believed in it! I believe in it!" (cheering) "The less said about what Hillary Clinton believes, the better..."

* * *

(Excerpt from victory speech given by Julie Dormyer Hawkins, 2/1/2016, Des Moines, IA)

"...I don't scare [the DC Establishment] the tiniest bit. What scares them is YOU! President Reagan's old coalition coming together again..."

* * *

("A Campaign on the Brink", _Politico_ , 2/2/2016)

"Hillary Clinton is in trouble.

"Between allegations that she mishandled classified information while Secretary of State, the revolt at the FBI when the Justice Department refused to press charges against her, and her dismal third-place finish last night in the Iowa Caucuses, her week can't possibly get any worse. Can it?

"Yes, it can. Her support in New Hampshire one week before its primaries is falling. Both Republican front-runner Julie Dormyer Hawkins and surprisingly-resurgent Democratic candidate David Sutherland have been hammering her tenure as Secretary of State mercilessly in campaign stops across Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. The Clinton magic that propelled her husband to two terms as President and enabled Earth's victory against Istvatha V'Han is gone, swallowed in reminders of the darker episodes of his Presidency. Hillary's uniqueness as potentially the first female President in American history seems shallow and tawdry when compared to the ridiculously photogenic and surprisingly politically-competent Hawkins -- who is also campaigning to be the first female president in American history. Hillary's record of accomplishment pales in comparison to Hawkins and Sutherland, both retired superheroes who have participated in some of the most famous recent events in world history..."

* * *

("The Great GOP Realignment", Joshua Green, _Bloomberg_ , 2/3/2016)

"...It’s easy to view this year’s Republican primary as a cult of personality and no more—the rise and endlessly-predicted fall of a colorful, articulate, and glamorous billionaire/retired superheroine who starred in two of the most popular YouTube videos in history. But what’s happening is much broader than [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins. It’s an extension of a shift in Republican politics that’s been under way for several years. Hawkins' dominating win in Iowa is better understood as a repudiation of the party establishment—just the latest in a series of uprisings dating to the 2010 election..."

* * *

(VIPER World HQ. 2/13/2016)

(The Supreme Serpent is briefing the Council of 30 on his latest scheme. Roger Essec, his nephew and member of the Council of 30, looks upset)

 **Roger** : "This plan is foolhardy and you know it!"

 **Essec** : "Is it, now?"

(tense pause, held gaze. Duchess Industries Chairwoman of the Board Henrietta von Drotte breaks the standoff)

 **Henrietta** : "Are we even SURE the correlation of forces favors VIPER?"

 **Essec** : "The last time there was a situation this favorable to VIPER was when the Soviet Union disintegrated." (beat) "I believe most of you remember just how *weak* VIPER was in that era to be incapable of exploiting that advantage?"

 **Henrietta** (beat): "Thank you SO much for rubbing it in."

 **Essec** (to the Council): "The benefits to VIPER *far* outweigh the risks! We will control enough of the Middle East oil reserves that we will earn a seat on OPEC! We will earn a legitimacy we have previously lacked in international relations by solving the Muslim immigration crisis in both Europe and America..."

 **Roger** (muttered): "Without nukes."

 **Essec** : "Yes, without nukes! Eurostar's destruction of that sanctuary island in the Aegean two years ago was beyond the pale even for THEM!"

 **Henrietta** : "Not us. You're assuming the refugees are even human."

 **Essec** : "A mindset which we will need to suppress even among ourselves until we have conquered the world. Operation Human Achievement will be FAR easier to accomplish if the human race believes us to be on THEIR side! The battle for their hearts and minds is just as important as the operation I intend to execute in two weeks!"

(Senator Arthur Bolton, D-NY stirs uncomfortably in his chair at the council table)

 **Bolton** : "Are you *sure* this operation is necessary?"

 **Essec** : "For many reasons. We gain an income stream from petrodollars which will help finance future operations. I've already mentioned the respectability we will gain in the interational community." (beat, leaning forward) "And we also gain the refugees already in place across Europe and America to use in formenting unrest when the time is right to strike!"

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Essec** : "And, we defang the campaign of possibly the most troubling candidate who can be potentially elected President of the United States."

 **Bolton** : "You refer to Julie Dormyer Hawkins?"

 **Essec** : "She has made no attempt to hide her intent to disrupt and destroy VIPER should she be elected. Why SHOULDN'T we neutralize her so that doesn't happen?"

(beat)

 **Roger** : "When is the go-order?"

 **Essec** : "Two weeks from today. It will take that long to move assets to their jump-off points for the attack."

 **Henrietta** : "And there is NO chance of interference from UNTIL, Russia, or America?"

 **Essec** : "They all have problems much closer to home."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Henrietta** : "You have the Council's blessing, Supreme Serpent."

 **Essec** (nodding): "Thank you." (turning, internal monologue) [[like I needed it to begin with...]]

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. 2/14/2016)

(Julie steps out of the portal to see Bob with a boquet of roses)

 **Ladyhawk** (confused): "What?"

 **Starforce** : "It's Valentine's Day, Ninjette!"

 **Ladyhawk** (beat): "Oh."

 **Starforce** : "I thought we could celebrate after your last campaign stop today?"

(awkward pause, held gaze)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Maybe later."

 **Starforce** : "Julie? You're up 40 points on your nearest competition! Don't you think you can take a break for just ONE night?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "My campaign won't run itself! House, next stop?"

 **House AI** : "High school auditorium in Goose Creek, SC."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Reset and engage!"

(the portal shimmers into existence again as Bob looks on in sheer disbelief)

 **Ladyhawk** : "I'll make it up to you, Nerd-boy! Promise."

(she strides back into the portal, leaving behind a very-confused Bob)

* * *

("Is There Anything Less Democratic Than The Democratic Party?", _Investors Business Daily_ , 2/12/2016)

"...[Vermont Senator Bernie] Sanders may have his eyes on the campaign finance system as the problem in the elections as many on the left do, while [Maryland Governor David] Sutherland has his eyes set on [Hillary] Clinton's mounting legal problems while Secretary of State. But the most obvious one is that while three-quarters of the New Hampshire electorate voted against Clinton she takes home half of the state's 30 delegates for the Democratic nomination. This is based on flaws in the Democratic Party’s nominating process, which is proving anything but democratic. In terms of securing the delegates needed for the nomination, it’s as if Sanders' victory never happened. And it comes on the heels of questionable tactics (six unlucky coin flips?) that diminished Sutherland’s clear electoral strength there — and what should have been *his* victory in Iowa.

"The problem is the Democratic Party’s system of “superdelegates” in selecting their nominee. Although it’s never a direct line of democracy in the presidential nomination process and both parties have processes that depart from pure one-man, one-vote contests, it’s pretty obvious the Democrats are setting themselves up for war with their own party members based on process of permitting “superdelegates” for 747, or almost a sixth, of all 5,083 nominating delegates.

"Superdelegates are party insiders, governors, campaign operatives and former office holders who have nominating power but who are not selected on the basis of primary results. It means they can vote any way they want, even if it’s at odds with what the voters want.

"Back before the Sanders insurgency, before the resurrection of Sutherland's campaign, and well before the election became front page news, Clinton’s campaign team focused on getting commitments from 350 superdelegates, which puts her at an advantage for securing the nomination, no matter what the voters’ verdict. Strategically, it was smart.

"But it’s at odds with everything the Democrats advocate about the importance of “getting involved,” as President Obama has exhorted college students, and “participatory democracy,” a grassroots favorite idea since the days of the New Left. Why should anyone take part in an election where their votes can be negated by an elite, privileged club of superdelegates whose votes count for more? As Orwell might wonder, are some pigs just more equal than others..."

* * *

(AP Breaking News, 2/24/2016)

"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton collapsed during a speech at a rally tonight in Columbia, SC..."

* * *

("Clinton Remains in Guarded Condition", _CBS News_ , 2/25/2016)

"Hillary Clinton remains in guarded condition in a Columbia, SC hospital after suffering a stroke during a speech last night..."

* * *

("And Now, A Dramatic Democratic Race," _Politico_ , 2/26/2016)

"A race which was once scripted as a coronation for Hillary Clinton has now turned into a struggle between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Maryland Governor David Sutherland into who can muster more of their core demographic..."

* * *

( _Drudge Report_ , 2/27/2016)

"(DEVELOPING -- MUST CREDIT DRUDGE REPORT) VIPER forces smashed into ISIS positions around both Daesh and Aleppo today, annihilating Islamic extremists wherever they went...

"In a prepared statement, the Supreme Serpent of the multinational criminal organization expressed his displeasure at the measures employed by the multinational force involved in the ongoing Syrian civil war and expressed hope that VIPER's intervention could not only solve the ongoing problems with Middle East security but the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe generated by ISIS' actions..."

* * *

("Clinton Suspends Campaign", _Politico_ , 3/1/2016)

"Hillary Clinton has suspended her political campaign after a devastating stroke during a rally in Columbia, SC last week..."

* * *

("Ladyhawk's VIPER Problem", _Salon_ , 3/2/2016)

"...VIPER's annihilation of ISIS also could not have come at a worse time for [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins, who had based her foreign policy views on a hard-line stance against both the multinational criminal organization and radical Islam. Her previous weak answers concerning the Republic of Central Asia's destruction of Iran's nuclear weapons production facilities last summer left her uniquely vulnerable to the actions of other rogue actors on the international stage -- actors who might take action on behalf of a civilized world which is unable (or unwilling) to do so itself...

"...VIPER acted decisively while the rest of the world dithered. The Middle East is peaceful once again, and the existential threat of a refugee crisis which threatened Europe and America has been defused. Mrs. Hawkins must now come to terms with the hard fact that the organization which allegedly assassinated her parents while she was a child and allegedly almost killed her on multiple occasions during her superheroic career now stands as a respected member of the world community.

"If she expects her presidential run to succeed, she needs to deal with her VIPER problem. Sooner rather than later."

* * *

("The Media's Ladyhawk Reckoning: Everyone Was Wrong", _Politico_ , 3/2/2016)

"David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, told his readers last summer that Julie Dormyer Hawkins was running for president to promote her own brand and that the “whole con might end well before the first snows in Sioux City and Manchester.”

"That was quite measured compared to James Fallows, the national correspondent of more than three decades for The Atlantic, who wrote confidently — and with his own bold for emphasis — “Julie Dormyer Hawkins will not be the 45th president of the United States. Nor the 46th, nor any other number you might name. The chance of her winning the nomination and election is exactly zero.”

"Those two mandarins weren’t alone in dismissing Hawkins’s chances. Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza wrote in July that “Julie Hawkins is not going to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2016.” And numbers guru Nate Silver told readers as recently as November to “stop freaking out” about Hawkins’s poll numbers.

"Now all these journalists, and more, are coming to grips with their mistaken assessments. And some, too, are freaking out.

"In an interview this week, Remnick sounded both shocked and sad about Hawkins’s success, saying it was “beyond belief” and reflects an “ugliness” that appeals to “every worst instinct” in America.

"“The fact that so many of us, all of us, were wrong in predicting anywhere near the extent of her success so far, may be partly due to the fact we didn’t want to believe those currents could be appealed to so well and so deeply and successfully,” Remnick said.

"Indeed, the knowing skepticism about Hawkins’s chances that Remnick expressed last summer was quite common throughout the journalism industry, from the most serious magazine journalists, writing with the voice of history, to most street-savvy, ear-to-the-ground bloggers: Hawkins had a polling ceiling; the Republican establishment would coalesce to bring her down; she didn’t have a sufficient ground game; one giant gaffe would inevitably bring her down; and on and on.

"But barring an unprecedented convention floor fight, all signs point to the unimaginable. Hawkins most likely will be the Republican nominee for president..."

* * *

(Democratic Primary Results, 3/2/2016)

(percent of popular vote)   | Clinton | Sutherland | Sanders  
---|---|---|---  
Texas: | **33** |  33 | 33  
Georgia: | 35 | **36** |  28  
Tennessee: | **33** |  33 | 32  
Virginia: | 32 | 33 | **35**  
Massachusetts: | 25 | 25 | **48**  
Vermont: | 3 | 10 | **83**  
Minnesota: | 18 | 40 | **41**  
Alabama: | 39 | **39** |  19  
Oklahoma: | 26 | 30 | **36**  
Arkansas: | **33** |  33 | 30  
Colorado: | 10 | 25 | **59**  
  
* * *

("The Democratic Race is in Chaos", _RealClearPolitics_ , 3/3/2016)

"...Now, a race which seemed so clear-cut at the beginning of the year is anything but. Out of the 11 Democratic Primaries yesterday, [Vermont Senator Bernie] Sanders won 6 outright, [Maryland governor David] Sutherland 2, and has filed recount challenges against [Hillary] Clinton in the three states where she barely eked out a victory in spite of her campaign being suspended..."

* * *

("How Did Ladyhawk Win?" _The Atlantic_ , 3/3/2016)

"LAKEWOOD VILLAGE, TX—The Great Room of Dormyer Manor is simultaneously rustic, modest, and magnificent. Rough-hewn beams of wood line the sides of the room before curving up to the ceiling over two stories above; the eastern wall is all glass and looking over the eastern branch of Lake Lewisville. This is the house in which Julie Dormyer Hawkins was born in 1962, spent the first nine years of her life, has lived in since her return from Japan in 1982, got married at in 1992 -- and where she chose to celebrate the biggest night so far of her improbable presidential campaign.

"The room was too small for the dozens of reporters who crammed into it on Tuesday night, jostling behind cameras and squeezing into couches and chairs. And that was before a contingent of older people filed in—citizens of Lakewood Village, there to support their neighbor Hawkins...

"...How did Hawkins happen? The theories abound. It was the other candidates’ fault, for failing to take her seriously, for thinking she would fade. It was the party’s fault, for making the nomination rules more frontrunner-friendly, and believing it could get Hawkins’ supporters without her baggage—without her. It was the media’s fault, for eating up the spectacle and giving her unlimited free airtime. It was the talk-radio hosts who ignored her ideological transgressions to applaud the way she was smashing the system. It was the Internet, which allowed her to broadcast her message to 6.5 million Twitter followers.

"It was the establishment, which pushed an unappealing agenda and never kept its promises. It was the political scientists and pundits, who lulled people into believing this couldn’t happen. It was Larger Sociocultural Forces, globalization and rapid social change that left the working class in the dust, disoriented in a world they didn’t recognize..."

* * *

("Sutherland and Sanders Aggressively Courting Superdelegates", _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 3/3/2016)

"With Hillary Clinton's exit from this year's Presidential campaign due to medical reasons, the superdelegates she had been counting on to propel her to her party's nomination are now up for grabs..."

* * *

("The GOP Establishment Can Be Beaten in This Election", Laura Ingraham, _LifeZette_ , 3/4/2016)

"...There's no point in complaining about this. [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins represents a potentially existential threat to the Donor Class, and it makes sense that they would use every trick in their toolbox to beat her. Plus, if she can't survive the onslaught that's coming in the next two weeks, I'm not sure she could survive against whomever wins the Democratic nomination. There was always going to be a time where if Hawkins started to represent a true threat to their power, that they would do everything they could to destroy her. I think she's understood this from the beginning. And now that time has come.

"Everything will be fair game. ProStar. Her family. Her superheroic career. The villains she has killed or helped capture. Everything she ever did or said. It will be one of the most brutal two weeks we've ever seen. But she is playing for the highest of stakes, and this is the sort of thing you have to survive if you're going to beat the champs of political scorched earth — the Clintons..."

* * *

("Invictus Rising", _Huffington Post_ , 3/4/2016)

"Julie Dormyer Hawkins has a bigger problem than VIPER right now -- retired superhero and Maryland governor David Sutherland...

"...Sutherland's appeal is to the very demographic which Hawkins has been so assiduously courting the past several months -- blue-collar white men who previoiusly felt abandonded by the modern Democratic Party's aggressive courting of minorities and young progressives. A demographic a previous generation knew as Ronald Reagan's Blue-Dog Democrats..."

* * *

("SJW's Will Elect Ladyhawk", _The American Conservative_ , 3/11/2016)

"...What happened tonight in Chicago is why we need [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins, as provocative as she is, to keep going. I am not a Hawkins supporter, and I reject much of her rhetoric. But she has a right to give a speech, even an obnoxious speech, without it being interrupted by demonstrators. All of us do. Hawkins is revealing how impossible it is to have a normal democracy with the activist left, who think their crying need for “safe spaces” gives them the right to silence their opponents.

"No. This political correctness needs to be opposed, and it needs to be opposed with force. I don’t know why the police couldn’t handle this situation, but they had better be on it in the future, because many Americans will not stand for this. What those protesters have done tonight is create a lot more Hawkins voters out of people who are sick and tired of privileged leftists using thug tactics to silence their opponents..

"...Unlike the liberal _New York Daily News_ — and, no doubt, the rest of the mainstream media — I do not blame Julie Dormyer Hawkins for this tonight. I blame the left. You want to protest against Hawkins? Great — that’s your right as an American. But you do so silently and peaceably. You let the woman speak. It’s her right as an American, and it’s the right of the people in the audience to hear her message, however offensive it may be to you, and make up their mind about it.

"This has gone too far. When an American presidential candidate has to cancel her rally in a major city because protesters have made it too dangerous, we have a serious problem in this country. It’s infuriating. This is not America. Those disruptive protesters need to be made to understand that this is not how America works..."

* * *

(Hawkins for President campaign stop, Vandalia, OH. The next afternoon)

(Julie is a couple of minutes into her standard campaign stump speech)

 **Ladyhawk** : "I'm sure by now all of you have heard about the events in Chicago yesterday?"

(a chorus of boos come from the crowd filling the parking lot hearing her)

 **Ladyhawk** : "We saw yesterday the TRUE face of intolerance in America today! Not the common-sense approach to Muslim immigration that I have been proposing, but what our youth are being taught as legitimate political discourse!"

(shouts of rage from the audience agreeing with what she just said)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing): "We as a modern, tolerant society should value freedom of expression, but not when that includes freedom to assault and kill those with whom you do not agree!"

(her Danger Sense goes off just before the screams of the crowd can be heard. The crowd parts as a flying wedge of large, college-aged boys with crowbars and chains begins to advance on Julie's stage)

 **Leader** : "DIE, RACIST BITCH!"

(Curly and Smiley, her Secret Service detail, move to interpose themselves while drawing their weapons)

 **Ladyhawk** (to her detail): "STEP ASIDE! I'LL DEAL WITH THEM!!"

(segment 2. I won't bother with the DEX counts because she has 20 points of it on the most physically-capable of her would-be assailants. She effortlessly picks her speaking podium up over her head, hurls it at the leader of the assailants, and clocks him in the head with it for 18 STUN after defenses. He drops to his knees, CON-stunned)

(segment 3. She half-move leaps over the recovering body of the leader, grabs another assailant around the shoulders to flip over his head, and uses the momentum to martial-slam that assailant into the ground for 2 BODY and 26 STUN. Assailant #2 is out and bleeding)

(segment 4. The leader recovers from being stunned. Assailants 3, 4, and 5 all take swings at Ladyhawk. All miss her like they were moving in slow motion)

(segment 5. Ladyhawk rapid-attacks Assailants #5 and #3 with a spin-kick. Both were wearing martial-arts padding underneath their jackets, which is why neither of them die. Assailant #5 takes 5 BODY and 33 STUN, while Assailant #3 takes 5 BODY and 38 STUN. Assailant #3 doesn't do so well on handling knockback, hurtling into Assailant #6 while vomiting blood and does 2 BODY and 26 STUN to *him*. All three fall unconscious)

(segment 6. Ladyhawk pivots out the previous phase's kick into an elbow strike to Assailant #4's abdomen for 4 BODY and 33 STUN after defenses. As his eyes glaze over in unconsciousness, Ladyhawk takes the crowbar from his hands)

(segment 8. Ladyhawk now uses the borrowed crowbar to deliver an offhand backhand to Assailant #1 as he finally gets to his feet. He's out and hurt bad)

(only assailants #7 and #10 get to attack thanks to the growing number of unconscious attackers around Ladyhawk. Assailant #10 misses with his crowbar, Assailant #7 rolls a '3' to hit with his heavy chain. As the chain is 5 PD and 2 BODY, I'd rule that Assailant #7 maxed out his roll on 6d6. Ladyhawk takes 10 STUN after Combat Luck and Damage Reduction as the chain wraps around her left arm)

(segment 9. Ladyhawk, her left arm still tangled with the chain that just hurt her and now really pissed, yanks Assailant #7 into her right foot. He goes down, unconscious and bleeding after 7 BODY and 41 STUN)

(segment 11. Ladyhawk pivots out of the kick and whips her left arm toward Assailant #10. The chain, no longer held at the other end by Assailant #7, connects and drops him, also unconscious and bleeding after 5 BODY and 31 STUN)

(segment 12. Ladyhawk's Danger Sense screams for the gun Assailant #8 is about to pull on her. She half-moves to #8 and shatters his arm with her 'Knife Blade' maneuver before he can aim at her)

(also segment 12. Assailants #9 and #11 fail EGO rolls based on the sheer estrogenocidal carnage Ladyhawk is leaving in her wake and run for their lives)

(post-segment 12. Ladyhawk and the surviving assailants all take recoveries)

(turn 2, segment 2. Ladyhawk martial-throws assailant #8 into the tarmac and unconsciousness)

(segment 4. Ladyhawk stares at Assailant #12, frozen in abject fear in front of her)

 **Assailant #12** (whimpering): "Don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me..."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Run, boy. Run back to your parents' basement where you belong."

(beat, then Assailant 12 runs for his life. It was the easiest PRE attack Ladyhawk's ever made in her superheroic career)

(there is an intense murmuring from the audience all around her, which starts into prolonged applause and cheering as she unwinds the chain still around her left arm. There is an angry welt where it had connected for damage. An NBC camera crew is now focused on Julie and recording)

 **Ladyhawk** (dropping the chain, to the camera): "Is it TOO much to ask Governor Kasich to concentrate on law enforcement in his own damn state instead of his own failed run for President?!?"

* * *

("The Campaign Turns Ugly", _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 3/14/2016)

"...Even coming on the heels of a massive protest in Chicago which shut down a planned Hawkins for President rally on Friday, one wonders what the Dayton protestors were hoping to accomplish by attacking a retired superheroine in peak physical condition. The spectacle of [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins wading into the protestors and single-handedly defeating them all in only 15 seconds turned as viral as either her interview with Jay Leno in 2013 or her killing of Fiacho had in 2015. Seeing as it happened in [Governor John] Kasich's home state of Ohio, this incident should be the death knell for his campaign..."

* * *

(AP Breaking News, 3/16/2016)

"Ohio Governor John Kasich announced this morning from the State House in Columbus, OH, that he is suspending his campaign for President following his 1-point loss of the Ohio Presidential Primary to retired superheroine Julie Dormyer Hawkins last night.

"Coming on the heels of Florida Senator Marco Rubio's blowout loss to Hawkins in the Florida Republican Primary last night and the suspension of his campaign, Mrs. Hawkins is now all but assured the Republican nomination for President of the United States..."

* * *

("Why It's Time For A Hawkins Revolution", _New York Post_ , 3/20/2016)

"...My gut tells me much of the contempt for [presumptive Republican nominee Julie Dormyer] Hawkins reflects contempt for her working-class support. It is one prejudice gentry liberals and gentry conservatives share.

"It is perhaps the last acceptable bigotry, and you can see it expressed on any primetime TV program. The insults don’t all seem good-natured to me. I grew up in central Pennsylvania, surrounded by the kind of people supporting Hawkins, and I sympathize with their worsening plight.

"For generations, they went all in for the American dream. Their families fought the wars, worked in the factories, taught school, coached Little League and built a middle-class culture. Now they are abandoned and know it.

"Nobody speaks for them. The left speaks for the unions, the poor and the nonwhite, even shedding tears for illegal immigrants and rioters and looters. The GOP speaks for the Chamber of Commerce, big business and Wall Street.

"Hawkins alone is bringing many of these forgotten Americans into the political system, much as Obama did with millennials and black voters. Hawkins has done it with full-frontal attacks on lopsided trade deals and a broken immigration system and a social welfare system more concerned with enslaving its participants than helping them. Her message is a potent brew of populism and nationalism that reaches across the partisan divide, and the public response is stirring the country.

"In fact, many who despise Hawkins concede she is right that globalization and the open-border flood of cheap labor, while benefitting many Americans, has hurt many others. But instead of working to fix a broken status quo, many on the left and right echo each other’s venomous attacks against her. One day she is Doctor Destroyer, the next she’s Hitler, and she’s routinely accused of hate speech and racism.

"What is her great sin? Breaking the taboo about what ails the middle class? Daring to challenge a power system that only pretends to have the consent of the governed?

"The shame is that others didn’t beat her to it.

"For her chutzpah, tens of millions of dollars are being poured into attack ads against her, and the urgent blue-nosed concerns about dark pools of money in politics have vanished. As long as she’s the target, all is fair.

"Often, the avalanche of sludge against Hawkins looks and sounds like a reactionary confederacy fighting to keep its power and privileges. Naturally, the mainstream media is slashing away.

"A Washington Post editorial claims that stopping Hawkins is the only way to “defend our democracy.” In other words, those troublesome voters are the problem.

"A New York Times columnist raised the prospect of assassination. Sure, it was a joke. Make that joke about Obama and see who laughs.

"I would be delighted to support a more conventional candidate who has Hawkins’ courage and appeal, but we don’t always get to pick our revolutionaries. And make no mistake, Ladyhawk is leading a political revolution that is long overdue."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. 4/2/2016)

(Bob and Julie are in bed). Julie is still moaning in pleasure after what they have just got done doing)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Ohhhh... You have no idea how much I've missed that."

 **Starforce** : "Actually, I do."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Look, if this is about the pace of the primary campaign, I warned you how hectic it was going to be before I declared."

 **Starforce** : "Being told how hectic it was going to be and actually experiencing it first hand are entirely different things."

 **Ladyhawk** : "I *need* to do this, Bob..."

 **Starforce** : "Yes, but at what cost?"

(beat)

 **Starforce** : "First, it was organizing your ground game state-by-state. Then, it was the primaries. Now, it's trying to outmaneuver the National Committee as they try to steal the nomination from you. In three months, it'll be bare-knuckles against whoever survives the Democratic primaries!" (beat) "Where's the time for us that's always been there?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Bob, I'm... I'm sorry! I had no idea..."

 **Starforce** : "What cost is saving our nation from VIPER when we lose each other in the process?"

(beat, then Julie turns away from Bob. There may be tears in her eyes)


	3. The Conventions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **warnings** : language, politics, no action sequences
> 
> * * *
> 
> #### DRAMATIS PERSONAE
> 
> **heroes**
> 
>   * Julie Dormyer Hawkins (AKA Ladyhawk), Republican nominee for President of the United States, disgustingly-powerful ninja with latent powers of temporal visualization
>   * Dr. Bob Hawkins (AKA Starforce I), husband of Julie Hawkins, disgustingly-powerful power-armor wearer/gadgeteer
>   * Daniel James 'DJ' Johnson (AKA Golden Avenger II), retired superhero, Republican nominee for Vice-President of the United States
>   * GEN Colleen Dewey, USAF (AKA Victory), retired superheroine and astronaut, Commander of USSTRATCOM, wife of DJ
> 

> 
> **villains**
> 
>   * Sir Edgar Lancelyn Essec, Supreme Serpent of VIPER
> 

> 
> * * *

("Why Ladyhawk Might Win", Robert Reich, _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 5/24/2016)

"...Political analysts have underestimated [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins from the jump because they’ve been looking through the rear-view mirror of politics as it used to be.

"Ladyhawk’s rise suggests a new kind of politics. You might call it anti-politics.

"The old politics pitted right against left, with presidential aspirants moving toward the center once they cinched the nomination.

"Anti-politics pits Washington insiders, corporate executives, bankers, and media moguls against a growing number of people who think the game is rigged against them. There’s no center, only hostility and suspicion.

"Americans who feel like they’re being screwed are attracted to a strongman or woman who will kick ass. The retired superheroine who killed Fiacho on live video during Eurostar's ill-fated attack on the 2015 Davos conference and personally defeated 12 assailants single-handedly at a campaign rally near Dayton, OH earlier this year appears tough and confrontational enough to take on powerful vested interests....

"...In the old politics, political parties, labor unions and business groups, and the press mediated between individual candidates and the public –explaining a candidate’s positions, endorsing candidates, organizing and mobilizing voters.

"In this era of anti-politics, it’s possible for anyone with enough ego, money, and audacity – in other words, Julie Dormyer Hawkins – to do it all herself: declaring herself a candidate; communicating with and mobilizing voters directly through Twitter and other social media; and getting free advertising in mainstream media by being politically incorrect and snarky. Official endorsements are irrelevant.

"Ladyhawk has perfected the art of anti-politics at a time when the public detests politics. Which is why so many experts in how politics used to be played have continuously underestimated her chances.

"And why Hawkins’ demagoguery – channeling the prejudices and fears of Americans who have been losing ground – makes her the most dangerous nominee of a major political party in American history."

* * *

("Advice for Divided Democrats", _Huffington Post_ , 5/28/2016)

"...[Vermont Senator Bernie] Sanders should stay in the race also because he has attracted a large number of young people and independents. Their passion, excitement, and enthusiasm are critically important to [Maryland Governor David] Sutherland’s success, if he’s the nominee, as well the success of other Democrats this year, and, more fundamentally, to the future of American politics.

"Finally and not the least, Sanders has been telling a basic truth about the American political economic system — that growing inequality of income and wealth has led inexorably to the increasing political power of those at the top, including big corporations and Wall Street banks. And that political power has stacked the deck in their favor, leading to still wider inequality.

"Nothing important can be accomplished — reversing climate change, creating true equal opportunity, overcoming racism, rebuilding the middle class, having a sane and sensible foreign policy — until we reclaim our democracy from the moneyed interests. The longer Bernie Sanders is on stage to deliver this message, the better.

"Next, my advice for Sanders supporters: Be prepared to work hard for David Sutherland if he gets the nomination. Some of you say that refusing to fight for or even vote for Sutherland will show the Democratic political establishment why it must change its ways.

"But the “Democratic political establishment” is nothing but a bunch of people, many of them big donors and fundraisers occupying comfortable and privileged positions, who won’t even be aware that you’ve decided to sit it out — unless Sutherland loses to Julie Dormyer Hawkins..."

* * *

("Ladyhawk and the Punditry's Scary Groupthink", Sean Trende, _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 6/9/2016)

"...To be blunt, everyone has lost their damned minds lately. Twitter, and commentary in general, has become a giant echo chamber. My Twitter feed has devolved into a mélange of undifferentiated opinions explaining not only why Julie Dormyer Hawkins shouldn’t win this election, but also how and why it can’t possibly happen. I don’t just mean an overall take that she’s likely to lose. I mean a complete and utter rejection of any evidence proffered that might point in a direction that is favorable to Hawkins. Oh, and by the way, she might also be the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse...

"...One of the Internet’s flaws has always been that for all its diversity, it is unrepresentative in important ways. Even left-leaning blogs and websites have tended to be disproportionately white. It’s an ongoing topic of conversation and source of controversy on these sites.

"What makes this cycle so tricky is that the re-emergence of strong class and cultural divides in the election has brought new cleavages to the fore, which are likewise underrepresented among commentators. Not only do you have a whole lot of white folk on Twitter, but you have a whole lot of white professionals with college degrees, disproportionately granted from elite universities. Most of them live in cities and neighborhoods dominated by white professionals with college degrees, disproportionately granted from elite universities, and go to workplaces with similar makeups. Somehow, the pundits look even less like America this cycle than in the past.

"I believe that most people in my Twitter feed, left and right, don’t know many genuine Hawkins supporters, if any. I can count two, maybe three among my Facebook friends, and I went to high school in Oklahoma. It’s the exact problem I discussed back in January: There’s a cosmopolitan vs. traditionalist divide that runs through our politics, with cultural cosmopolitans running both parties.

"The fact that Hawkins is so firmly positioning herself against those cosmopolitans, more so than any national politician since Ronald Reagan, makes it difficult to evaluate her campaign, and deprives us of the conversation we need, because for the first time in a long time, a major party candidate isn’t really trying to curry favor with opinion leaders..."

* * *

(Transcript from Chuck Todd's interview with Governor David Sutherland [D-MD], "Meet the Press", 6/12/2016)

 **Invictus** : "I'm saying that had my proposed profiling initiative been implemented years ago that 50 American citizens in the Orlando area would still be alive!"

 **Todd** : "But VIPER killed radical Islam over three months ago! Wasn't last night's attack the action of a deranged, homophobic lone wolf?

 **Invictus** : "Exactly HOW many refugees came over from the war zones in Iraq and Syria before VIPER struck in February?"

 **Todd** (shocked): "Are you agreeing with Julie Dormyer Hawkins that VIPER's conquering of ISIS only caused ISIS to metastize?"

 **Invictus** : "Of course not! I'm saying that a properly-implemented profiling scheme against specific target demographics would have prevented Mr. Mateen from getting the weapons he used last night, let alone even APPROACH his eventual target..."

* * *

("The Media Wasn't Prepared to Handle Sarcasm from a Candidate," Blog post to _HotAir.com_ , 6/18/2016)

"...[Julie Dormyer] Hawkins is sarcastic. She’s easily exercised. And when she starts in on a subject and the room temperature rises, you get more of that. The media loves to act offended and point to this as a reason why she must not be qualified to lead America. But the fact is that sarcasm and the occasional expletive are part and parcel of how much of the nation actually speaks. This has left the media completely flummoxed, leading to the headlines about how Hawkins is going to sell out our national security to Central Asia.

"Do you honestly believe she’s that daft? If so, then you’re ready to believe anything about her. Hawkins is not a politician and she doesn’t talk like a politician. Sooner or later cable news is going to have to come to terms with that..."

* * *

("America's Political Civil War", _Detroit News_ , 6/25/2016)

"...Already in this election season we’ve seen violent attempts to deny Americans their rights of free association and speech. Police in Cleveland have been warned by the FBI to expect hordes of organized hooligans to descend on their city with the aim of shutting down the upcoming Republican National Convention.

"A new Pew Research Center poll finds majorities of both Republicans and Democrats describe the rival political party as immoral, dishonest and stupid, and consider it a threat to the country’s well-being. Many say members of the other party make them feel afraid. Even among Democrats, supporters of both Governor David Sutherland and Senator Bernie Sanders say much the same things about their intra-party rivals.

"So much for the concept of agreeing to disagree agreeable, an expectation of civility that has kept the nation from shredding.

"We have not harbored such irreconcilable differences since the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s. America got through the hostility of that era intact, but for a while it certainly felt as if we were coming apart. In the midst of this bizarre, volatile election season, it feels that way again. Winning by any means necessary is all that matters.

"It still is unimaginable that Americans would someday again take up arms against each other, but such fraternal bloodshed always starts with unchecked hatred. And we sure seem to hate each other."

* * *

("Why The World Is Rebelling Against 'Experts'", Joel Klotkin, _The Daily Beast_ , 7/2/2016)

"...Its expressions range from Brexit to the Ladyhawk phenomena and includes neo-nationalist and unconventional insurgent movements around the world. It shares no single leader, party or ideology. Its very incoherence, combined with the blindness of its elite opposition, has made it hard for the established parties across what’s left of the democratic world to contain it.

"What holds the rebels together is a single idea: the rejection of the neo-liberal crony capitalist order that has arisen since the fall of the Soviet Union. For two decades, this new ruling class could boast of great successes: rising living standards, limited warfare, rapid technological change and an optimism about the future spread of liberal democracy. Now, that’s all fading or failing.

"Living standards are stagnating, vicious wars raging, poverty-stricken migrants pouring across borders and class chasms growing. Amidst this, the crony capitalists and their bureaucratic allies have only grown more arrogant and demanding. But the failures of those who occupy what Lenin called “the commanding heights” are obvious to most of the citizens on whose behalf they claim to speak and act.

"The Great Rebellion draws on five disparate and sometimes contradictory causes that find common ground in frustration with the steady bureaucratic erosion of democratic self-governance: class resentment, racial concerns, geographic disparities, nationalism, cultural identity. Each of these strains appeals to different constituencies, but together they are creating a political Molotov cocktail..."

* * *

("Independence Day", William Kristol, _The Weekly Standard_ , 7/3/2016)

"This election cycle hasn't been kind to Republican big shots. Their favorite presidential candidates—Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio—fell short. Their opposition to Julie Dormyer Hawkins was ineffectual, and their subsequent submission to her inglorious.

"Now they have one last chance to do something that would bring credit to them and benefit to their party and country: Support the effort by hundreds of delegates to free themselves to vote their conscience at the GOP convention.

"These delegates have been organizing from the bottom up. Their movement has more momentum than anyone thought possible a few weeks ago. But the delegates are under intense pressure from the Hawkins campaign and from RNC apparatchiks to buckle under. Republican governors, senators and congressmen—who privately acknowledge what a disaster Hawkins would be—can do one thing to help. They can provide air cover to delegates risking their careers charging on foot the entrenched batteries of the party establishment.

"They don't have to do much. They don't have to attack or oppose Hawkins publicly. All they have to say is that delegates should vote their conscience, that doing so is in the finest traditions of the party, and that Republicans don't bully other Republicans. Just a few volleys from assorted GOP big guns could even up the odds, and give the brave enlisted men and women willing to do the right thing a chance to prevail.

"The weekend of July 4 is a good time to step up. All that Republican leaders have to declare is that the convention delegates "are, and of right ought to be, free and Independent," and "that they are absolved from all allegiance" to a nominee who would sully the name and damage the future of the Republican party..."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Late evening, 7/8/2016)

(with a click! the door from the Library to the Foyer unlocks, and Julie steps out. She looks tired and stressed)

 **Jillian** (from the stairs to the lower level): "You could have made some time for Dad's birthday, you know."

(Julie uncharacteristically startles, just to give you an idea how out of sorts she currently is)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Were you waiting for me?"

 **Jillian** : "I have a backdoor to the house server that tells me whenever that elevator in the Library that I'm not supposed to know exists is in use."

(awkward pause)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Where is he?"

 **Jillian** : "Asleep in the dining room, waiting for you to return."

(Julie now has a good look at Jillian in the twilit gloom of the foyer. Her arms are crossed even while holding an iPad in one hand, and she does NOT look happy)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Jillian, dear, what's wrong?"

 **Jillian** : "You."

 **Ladyhawk** (beat): "Excuse me?"

 **Jillian** : "You REALLY think I'm so wrapped up in computers and gaming that I can't tell that you and Dad are having problems?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "We're not having problems..."

 **Jillian** : "Oh yes you are, Mom. I'm not the only one who's noticed it, either!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "What?"

 **Jillian** : "Nate's mentioned it, Laura's mentioned it... hell, even my twin brother JAMES has noticed it! Do you have any *idea* what it takes to get him to notice anything that's non-technical?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Jillian, I..."

 **Jillian** (interrupting): "Ever since you started running for President, you've started drifting away from Dad. In the span of one year, I've seen you both go from people who were as madly in love with each other as you were when you were in the original TASK FORCE to people treating each other little different from every other married couple I know!"

(shocked pause, held gaze)

 **Jillian** (continuing): "If it hurts ME looking at what my parents have become, think about what it's doing to Dad! It's tearing *him* up inside because he doesn't know what he's done or how to solve what the two of you have..."

(Jillian rambles to a stop. There may be tears in her eyes)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Has he said anything?"

 **Jillian** : "No, but Dad isn't exactly a difficult person to read."

(beat, then Julie walks toward Jillian to embrace her only to be held at arms length by the hand holding the iPad)

 **Jillian** : "Your problem is with Dad. Solve it." (beat, offers the iPad) "By the way, he wanted you to have this."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Why?"

 **Jillian** : "He was doing a little bit of research on lobbyist firms and the Republican National Committee and needed a little bit of... help to acquire data."

 **Ladyhawk** (annoyed): "Jillian..."

 **Jillian** : "I'm an adult now, Mom, and you can't ground me. Besides, you'll reconsider when I tell you which European conglomerates with ties to VIPER are in bed with those lobbyists."

 **Ladyhawk** (beat, eyebrows raised): "Oh, really?"

 **Jillian** : "Given everything he's learned in the past year about politics, you can do a LOT worse than Dad when it comes to opposition research." (beat, turns for the stairs to the upper level) "He may not have my mad computer skills, but he sure as hell knows the right questions to ask."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Thank you."

(Jillian goes upstairs while Julie swipes through the document cued up on the iPad)

* * *

(VIPER World HQ, somewhere in the Mbang Mountains of western Africa. 7/13/2016)

(an agent enters the Supreme Serpent's office)

 **Essec** : "Report?"

 **Agent** : "Ladyhawk continues to outmaneuver the Republican National Committee in their attempt to sabotage her nomination."

 **Essec** : "Since when did SHE become so politically competent?"

 **Agent** : "We don't believe her actions to be a result of political competence, Supreme Serpent. We believe them to be related to her latent mutation to see into the future."

(Sir Edgar's eyebrows climb his forehead)

 **Essec** : "Continue."

 **Agent** : "Our new political analysis branch does not believe her recent actions to be those of a politically-savvy operator. Her counters to our manipulations of the National Committee are almost too late to be effective each time we attempt them."

 **Essec** : "Yet they are."

 **Agent** : "Agreed, Supreme Serpent."

(beat, then Sir Edgar leans back into his seat and sighs)

 **Essec** : "So the Republican side of the American's election is fixed. What of the Democratic side?"

 **Agent** : "Neither Governor Sutherland nor Senator Sanders will possess a clear majority of delegates for a first-ballot victory in the Democratic Convention next month."

 **Essec** : "Hmmm."

(beat)

 **Essec** (continuing): "What happens should the Democratic Convention be brokered?"

 **Agent** : "Difficult to say, Supreme Serpent. It wholly depends on the faithfulness of Senator Sanders' supporters to stay with the eventual Democratic nominee."

 **Essec** : "You have not analyzed the chances that they won't?"

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Agent** : "No, Supreme Serpent."

 **Essec** : "Do so. If there is a chance we can paralye America in another 12th amendment constitutional crisis like in 2008, we need to encourage and exploit it. Dismissed."

 **Agent** (bowing to Sir Edgar): "Yes, Supreme Serpent."

(the agent leaves Sir Edgar's office)

* * *

("The GOP Establishment Prepares to Abandon Ladyhawk", _Politico.com_ , 7/15/2016)

"...unable to field a candidate that could beat her in primaries and caught in the act of attempting to change the floor rules of the upcoming National Convention to deny her the nomination she won fairly, multiple sources report that many respected figures high-up in the GOP leadership have reached out to Democratic Presidential candidate David Sutherland with offers of political cooperation should he be nominated and elected President..."

* * *

(Republican National Convention, Cleveland OH. 7/18/2016)

(GEN Colleen 'Victory' Dewey, USAF, leads DJ 'Golden Avenger II' Johnson into Julie's suite. A 9-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl follow them. Bob sits unobtrusively on the business desk behind Julie)

 **Victory** (to Julie): "I brought him in as you asked, Mrs. Hawkins."

 **Golden Avenger** : "I don't see why our children have to be in here..."

 **Ladyhawk** : "You'll understand in a moment, Daniel."

(awkward pause, held gaze)

 **Golden Avenger** : "You called me by my first name."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Is there a problem with that?"

 **Golden Avenger** : "That depends."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Ladyhawk** (confused, indicating DJ and GEN Dewey): "How long have you two been married?"

 **Victory** : "We had known each other in the DC superhuman community since Iron Eagle's coup attempt in 1997. We started seriously dating during Bush 43's first term, and we got married 10 years ago."

 **Golden Avenger** : "We have not advertised it for..." (beat, sweeps his hands over their children) "...what should be obvious reasons."

 **Ladyhawk** (beat, nodding): "I understand. No need to apologize."

 **Golden Avenger** : "Then WHY did you insist our children come here?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Because what I am about to ask you will affect their lives profoundly if you agree to it."

 **Golden Avenger** (beat): "That doesn't sound good."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Ladyhawk** : "I need a Vice Presidential nominee."

(shocked pause, held gaze. GEN Dewey's eyes widen)

 **Golden Avenger** (eyes wide): "I'm not a politician!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Neither am I. Your point?"

 **Golden Avenger** : "You're talking the VICE-PRESIDENCY here, Mrs. Hawkins! One heartbeat away from ultimate power!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "I could use somebody scarier than me to make our enemies think twice about taking me out! So can America!"

 **Golden Avenger** (angry): "I am NEITHER a walking flak jacket *nor* a Scary Black Man!" (beat, spreads his arms helplessly) "All I ever wanted to be was an astronaut!"

 **Starforce** : "From Lyndon Johnson through Dan Quayle, the Vice President was traditionally in charge of setting space policy for America."

(DJ looks at Bob, then at Julie)

 **Golden Avenger** : "You're fighting dirty."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Damn straight."

(desperately, he looks at GEN Dewey)

 **Victory** (taking his hands and squeezing them): "Whatever you decide, dear, I'll support you."

(DJ's eyes widen again as he releases his grip with his wife)

 **Daughter** (taking her father's right hand): "Go for it, Dad!"

 **Son** (taking his father's left hand): "You can do it!"

(tense pause, held gaze. Finally, DJ shakes his head in disbelief)

 **Golden Avenger** (holding his hand out to Julie): "Okay, you sold me. I'm in."

(Julie smiles, starts to shake his hand, then wraps DJ in a bear-hug)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Thank you thank you thank you..."

 **Golden Avenger** (detaching himself): "Calm DOWN!"

(everyone in the room laughs)

* * *

("Once Again, Ladyhawk Defies the Establishment", _RealClearPolitics.com_ , 7/20/2016)

"...Many expected [Julie Dormyer Hawkins] to pick Marco Rubio, the freshman Florida senator, as her Vice-Presidential nominee. Rubio would have given her much-needed political savvy and acumen in dealing with Congress which she so clearly lacks at the current time.

"Instead, she went with a retired superhero with even less political acumen than she possesses -- married to the current head of our nation's strategic nuclear forces, and part of one of the DC area's ultimate power couples for the past two decades. Analysts on both sides of the political spectrum had a collective aneurysm attempting to understand the logic -- if any -- which went into her choice of Vice Presidential nominee.

"National polls, however, give the answer to which our current punditocracy is unable (or unwilling) to come to themselves. Mrs. Hawkins' positives soared among most demographics in the immediate aftermath of announcing [DJ] Johnson as her ticket mate, according to multiple overnight polls..."

* * *

("10 Ways Ladyhawk Can Make the DC Elite Look Even Dumber", _Daily Mail_ , 7/20/2016)

"...As we’ve seen already in this Republican National Convention week, the Hawkins' are a bunch of aesthetically pleasing, articulate charmers who would slip effortlessly into life as America’s new First Family. They’re like the Kennedys only without all the baggage, and so wealthy they’d probably view the White House as a small holiday home. If you thought Nathan and Laura were impressive, wait until Jillian gets on that podium. She may be a gaming demigoddess with serious geek cred, but she’s also a beautiful, razor-smart, and very personable vote-winner who will wow even the most anti-Hawkins Americans while she attends San Diego Comic-Con immediately after her Cleveland appearance. As for her husband Bob, those who rush to ridicule him miss the bigger picture: most normal Americans don’t care about his father or even understand why Doctor Destroyer was so dangerous anymore. They just see a walking, talking personification of the American dream; a child genius, superhero, and Nobel Laureate from a middle-class family who worked hard and entirely legally to earn his fame and is now a loyal, supportive husband to a woman who was an all-American heroine herself. The more we see and hear of Clan Hawkins, the better for her chances..."

* * *

(Excerpt from transcript of Julie Dormyer Hawkins' acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, 7/21/2016)

"...We come to work together, we turn visions into reality, we think big, we make it happen. I love what I've done, both running ProStar and being a superheroine. I'm grateful beyond words to the nation that's allowed me to do both. So when people ask me why I'm running, I answer, 'I'm running to give back to this country which has been so good to me.'..."

* * *

("Could the Democratic Convention Be Brokered?", _Weekly Standard_ , 7/23/2016)

"...Head to head between the retired superheroes, polls for the last month have shown [Democratic nominee David] Sutherland leading against [Republican nominee Julie Dormyer] Hawkins. What the polls don't tell you is that they all assume Sutherland can retain other core Democratic constituencies, such as the young urban progressives that came out in droves for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. All Governor Sutherland needs to do before the convention in Philadelphia is shore up the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, and he can start drafting his Inagural Address..."

* * *

( _Drudge Report_ , 7/27/2016)

"(DEVELOPING -- MUST CREDIT DRUDGE REPORT) Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders walked out of the Democratic National Convention tonight with his delegates after a furious floor speech denouncing the back-room dealing which was being arranged to guarantee Maryland Governor David Sutherland the party's Presidential nomination on the second ballot..."

* * *

("Foxbat's Legacy Haunts the 2016 Campaign", _Politico_ , 7/30/2016)

"Somewhere in Millenium City, Freddie Foswell must be smiling.

"Everyone laughed at Foswell, better known as the lunatic supervillain Foxbat, when he started his independent campaign for President in 2008. They all stopped laughing when he carried California in the general election, throwing what should have been an Electoral College victory for Barack Obama to the House of Representatives under the procedures spelled out by the 12th Amendment.

"Now, for the second time in 8 years, the spectre of a 12th Amendment Constitutional crisis looms over a Presidential election. In exhaustive state-by-state polling conducted after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and his delegates walked out of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, neither he nor Democratic nominee David Sutherland nor Republican nominee Julie Dormyer Hawkins wins enough states to reach the 270 Electoral votes necessary to win the Presidency..."

* * *

("Why, Julie? Why?", _Salon_ , 8/3/2016)

"Don't like the specter of the Presidential Election being decided once again by the House of Representatives? Thank Julie Dormyer Hawkins.

"Had the Republicans not nominated the firebrand retired superheroine and billionaire high-tech tycoon, David Sutherland would not have been obligated to run to her right on foreign policy and immigration. A Governor Sutherland unconstrained to shore up the Democratic party's progressive base means that Vermont senator Bernie Sanders would not feel obligated to walk out on the Democratic convention and take his supporters with him. A unified Democratic party crushes Hawkins and the Republicans foolish enough to nominate her this election cycle, possibly for another generation..."

* * *

(VIPER World HQ. 8/12/2016)

(The Supreme Serpent is meeting with his Political Analysis branch)

 **Essec** : "HOW do we knock Ladyhawk out of the American Presidential race?"

 **Agent 1** : "We believe that there are numerous incidents from her superheroic career which can be used to accomplish that."

 **Essec** : "Such as?"

 **Agent 2** : "She drowned in Dayton, OH in 1990 when she ran afoul of our operations in that city."

 **Essec** (beat): "So?"

 **Agent 1** : "She brought TASK FORCE into Dayton without being aware of the covert PRIMUS op which was being run in that city at that time."

 **Essec** (slowly): "Dayton was an armory city for VIPER in that era, correct?"

 **Agent 2** : "Correct. It was before we moved our armory operations to third-world locations after the end of the Cold War."

(beat, while Sir Edgar contemplates his folded hands)

 **Essec** : "Is there any way we can exploit that to disrupt her campaign?"

 **Agent 1** : "We've already infiltrated an agent into the nursing home in which director Rochestor has been incarcerated. He is still bitter about what happened to his career, and is more than willing to tell his side of that story."

 **Essec** : "Good. Any other incidents?"

 **Agent 2** : "Her reaction to the attempted rape of her daughter Laura in October of 2010 resulted in several ruined lives among the administration of the school her daughter was attending."

 **Essec** : "I don't need to know the details, and neither does the public. Have our contacts in the American media write it up as a hit piece and publish it."

 **Agent 1** : "You want to go with BOTH attacks?"

 **Essec** : "Yes, both of them! Julie Hawkins needs to DIE as a legitimate Presidential candidate, and she needs to do so NOW!"

 **Agent 1** : "Yes, Supreme Serpent."

 **Agent 2** : "What of the Democratic candidates?"

 **Essec** (unconcerned): "What of them?"


	4. The Campaign

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **warnings** : language (including one precision F-strike), politics, mature situations
> 
> * * *
> 
> #### DRAMATIS PERSONAE
> 
> **heroes**
> 
>   * Julie Dormyer Hawkins (AKA Ladyhawk), Republican nominee for President of the United States, disgustingly-powerful ninja with latent powers of temporal visualization
>   * Dr. Bob Hawkins (AKA Starforce I), husband of Julie Hawkins, disgustingly-powerful power-armor wearer/gadgeteer
>   * Theodore Jameson, Jr. (AKA Ranger), Director-General of UNTIL, disgustingly-powerful speedster
>   * Olivia d'Alembert (AKA Thelambra), supermodel, wife of Ted Jameson, Empyrean with psionic and luck-based telekinetic powers
>   * Dr. Matthew Fuseli (AKA Biomaster), mutant neurokinetic manipulator and reformed master supervillain
> 

> 
> **villains**
> 
>   * Craig Vandersnoot (AKA Mechassassin), powered-armor mercenary
>   * David Sutherland (AKA Invictus), Governor of Maryland and Democratic nominee for President of the United States, brick/energy projector
>   * Sir Edgar Lancelyn Essec, Supreme Serpent of VIPER
> 

> 
> **others**
> 
>   * Teresa Rendon, Chief Constable for Denton County, TX
>   * Tim Corwin, Assistant Constable for Denton County, TX, her husband
>   * Nathan Hawkins (AKA Relativity), son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, speedster
>   * Laura Hawkins (AKA Chrona), daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, time-elemental
>   * James Hawkins, son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, gadgeteer
>   * Jillian Hawkins, daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, cyberkinetic
>   * Tyrone Williams (AKA Smiley), leader of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Ralph Hendricks (AKA Curly), member of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Jason Kayami (AKA Ghostbane), retired superhero, member of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Sofia Guiterrez, member of Mrs. Hawkins' Secret Service detail
>   * Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Senior Senator from Vermont, Independent candidate for President
> 

> 
> **AUTHOR'S NOTE 1** : Telepathy is denoted by (( )), internal monologue by [[ ]]
> 
>  **AUTHOR'S NOTE 2** : Some knowledge of the stories 'The City That VIPER Built' and 'Cliques' is helpful but not necessary to understand two of the media attacks launched against Julie
> 
> * * *

("The Mistakes Ladyhawk Has Made", _Vox.com_ , 8/15/2016)

"There was a time that Andrew Rochester was an important person inside the Beltway. For over a decade, from when Jimmy Carter stood PRIMUS up to deal with superpowered crime in America to when Doctor Destroyer obliterated Detroit, he was the public face of American law enforcement against superpowered crime.

"It is something that happened during this phase of his career which has resulted in him stirring from his nursing home in northern Virginia. Something concerning Julie Dormyer Hawkins, which almost compromised a covert operation PRIMUS was running against VIPER back in 1990 in Dayton, OH..."

* * *

(Arena District, Columbus OH. 8/16/2016)

(Julie steps out in front of the media, eager for their lead-off story for today)

 **Ladyhawk** : "There have been many accusations in the past day that I interfered with a PRIMUS covert op in the Dayton area in 1990 during my superheroic career."

(tense pause, held gaze as Julie surveys the media at her press conference)

 **Ladyhawk** : "A covert op which was designed by then-PRIMUS director Andrew Rochester."

(beat)

 **Ladyhawk** : "The same Andrew Rochester who was so EFFECTIVE in protecting Detroit in July of 1992 that the President terminated his job for cause."

(shocked gasp from the assembled media in front of her)

 **Ladyhawk** (coldly, turning away): "I believe that is ALL that need be said concerning the current accusations against me. This press conference is over."

(she walks off to the reaction of the media gathered to feast on what they thought would be the remains of her presidential campaign)

* * *

(transcript from Megyn Kelly's interview with Julie Dormyer Hawkins, "The Kelly File", _Fox News_ , 8/16/2016)

 **Megyn** : "You were the acting team leader for TASK FORCE at the time of the 1990 incident, correct?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Yes."

 **Megyn** : "Did you or PRIMUS have any procedures you used whenever you travelled on business in your secret identity?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "It was standard operating procedure at that time for leaders of sanctioned teams to let PRIMUS know where their business travel or vacations would take them, in case it was necessary for them to be reached while away from where they normally operated." (beat) "Procedures I followed before I went to Dayton."

 **Megyn** : "Did anyone at PRIMUS make any attempt to warn you about what you might find in Dayton, or what they had going on there?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "No. Given my past history with VIPER, I would have thought that they would." (beat, animated) "The original Golden Avenger didn't even know what was happening in that city! Director Rochester hammered him as hard as he did TASK FORCE during the conference call after my rescue!"

 **Megyn** : "So would you say that Director Rochester felt it was more important that you die rather than warn you about what you were heading into?"

 **Ladyhawk** (beat): "Yes."

* * *

("The Lives Ladyhawk Has Destroyed", _New York Times_ , 8/16/2016)

"Charles Steele is a broken man. Living from homeless shelter to homeless shelter, his hand shattered by the retired superhero Starforce, the former award-winning football coach hasn't been the same since October of 2010.

"Bradley Bryan is similarly broken. Divorced and bankrupt, he ekes out a living teaching at a community college in Beavercreek, OH, far away from the confines of Little Elm, TX, where he was the principal of the local high school until October 2010.

"These two men share a common problem. Republican Presidential candidate Julie Dormyer Hawkins.

"In October of 2010, Mr. Steele's son Lucas was accused of attempting to rape Mrs. Hawkins' daughter at a party. Mrs. Hawkins illegally broke into the computer network of Little Elm High School and allegedly found evidence that Lucas was a serial rapist who was being protected by the school administration. Rather than wait for the legal system to sort things out, she ruined the lives of both Mr. Steele and Mr. Bradley..."

* * *

(Little Elm High School Auditorium, 8/17/2016. The Denton County Constable's Office is holding a very-well-attended press conference)

(Tim Corwin and Teresa Rendon are in front of a line-up of multiple females. We should be able to recognize Paula and Lorelei Pierce in the line-up behind them)

 **Rendon** : "My name is Teresa Rendon. I am the head constable for the Denton County Judicial System."

 **Corwin** : "My name is Tim Corwin. I am currently Officer in Charge of Denton County's Tactical Response Team. Prior to that, I was the PRIMUS agent in charge of their operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex until the disbanding of that agency in 2011."

 **Rendon** : "It has come to both our attention that events from October of 2010 in our county are being exploited by those outside of Denton County in order to influence the current Presidential campaign."

 **Corwin** : "We wish to correct this."

 **Rendon** : "Charles Steele's son Lucas was a serial rapist throughout his high school career, protected by both his father and the principal of the high school in order to bring atheletic glory on the Little Elm school system."

 **Corwin** : "It was Julie and Bob Hawkins that ended their reign of terror across Little Elm when Lucas attempted to rape their daughter Laura."

 **Rendon** : "We find it BEYOND reprehensible that certain people would seek to ignore the obvious crimes of the Steele's in order to oppose a current presidential candidate who was responsible for bringing them to justice for their crimes."

 **Corwin** : "Anyone who would deliberately ignore the crimes of a serial rapist in order to destroy a Presidential candidate does not deserve to have a voice in determining who becomes President of the United States. Not this year. Not in ANY year."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Rendon** : "Any questions?"

* * *

(VIPER World HQ. 8/18/2016)

 **Essec** (screaming): "WHY do people keep coming forward to PROTECT HER?!?"

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. 9/7/2016. After midnight)

/* suggested music: [Love Over Gold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gej3hLOLDU), by Dire Straits */

(Bob is out on the Veranda adjacent to the Master Bedroom, watching lightning flash along the back of the squall line that passed over earlier in the evening. From the shadows of the Master Bedroom, Julie appears in the door wearing only a kimono)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Bob?"

 **Starforce** (not turning around): "I didn't think you were up."

 **Ladyhawk** : "What's wrong?"

(awkward pause)

 **Starforce** : "Us."

(Julie puts a hand over her mouth)

 **Starforce** : "I haven't felt this distant from you since just before Dayton in 1990." (beat) "And it hurts."

(beat)

 **Starforce** : "Every day, you barely have time to even say 'hello' to me before it's through the portal to your first campaign stop. I only see you for the half-minute it takes me to re-target the portal to your next stop, and it's like that non-stop every 1 to 2 hours until late evening." (beat) "And then you fall asleep in my arms barely out of the portal."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Bob, I'm... I'm sorry! I wish we could have more time together, but this pace of campaigning is so grueling! I want to stay awake and enjoy time with you, but I run out of energy when the last stop is over."

 **Starforce** : "I know. I've been carrying you from the Portal to our bedroom for a week, now."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Bob..."

 **Starforce** (interrupting): "Look at me. Saved the world, saved the timestream, saved the Galaxy, saved Earth's dimension, don't have a damn CLUE how to save my own marriage..."

 **Ladyhawk** (firmly interrupting): "Bob, LOOK AT ME."

(He turns around. Julie's kimono is crumpled on the terrace just in front of the door. Julie is three feet in front of it)

 **Ladyhawk** : "What part of the phrase 'Until Death do us part' did you NOT understand during our marriage vows?"

(Bob's jaw hangs open in shock as she walks up to him)

 **Ladyhawk** : "I *need* you, Robert Alan Hawkins. We need each other, by each other's side. Now more than ever these next few months."

(what she has just said echoes in her mind for a moment. Her jaw drops, then she smiles)

 **Ladyhawk** : "And I *just* got an idea how to solve both our problems!"

 **Starforce** (confused): "Mind filling me in, Ninjette?"

(Julie grabs Bob's shoulders and wraps her legs around his body)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Less talk, Nerd-boy, and more sex. I'll explain later."

(smiling but still confused, Bob carries her back into the Master Bedroom)

* * *

(University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. Morning, 9/7/2016)

(A 'Hawkins for President' RV is parked outside the School of Music Concert Hall. Two flunkies wait nervously outside the RV, while Curly and Sofia wait by the stage entrance to the Hall)

 **Flunkie 1** : "Where are we going from here?"

 **Flunkie 2** : "To Gainesville, for the late-afternoon rally." (beat) "I still don't understand how she's going to fit in the luncheon at Downtown Disney between here and there."

 **Flunkie 1** (looking at his smartphone): "I don't understand how she's even going to make THIS speech on time! She should've been here by now..."

(the door to the RV is thrown open from the inside, revealing Julie and Bob sharing a passionate kiss)

 **Flunkie 1** : "Wait, HOW did they get by us?"

 **Flunkie 2** (pointing to Bob): "More importantly, what is HE doing here?"

 **Ladyhawk** (breaking for air, laughing): "Nerd-boy? You're going to smear my makeup!"

 **Flunkie 1** : "Mrs. Hawkins? You're on in two minutes!"

 **Ladyhawk** (leaping down from the RV and grabbing Bob's hand): "Come on now! You wanted to see how my campaign day goes!"

 **Starforce** (cheerfully demented, to the flunkies): "Toodles!"

(they set off for the auditorium entrance at a dead run, Julie dragging Bob, and both of them grinning like children)

 **Flunkie 2** (beat): "Well, she looks a lot better than she did yesterday."

* * *

(University of South Florida, School of Music Concert Hall. One hour later)

(Julie waves as she walks backstage to thunderous applause and chants of 'HAW-KINS! HAW-KINS! HAW-KINS!'. Bob embraces her immediately)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Well?"

(Bob kisses Julie)

 **Starforce** : "Wow. Just... WOW!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Told you my stump speech delivery's been getting better!" (beat) "Where to next?"

 **Starforce** : "Downtown Disney, lunch and a speech. RV 5 is supporting that stop."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Let's get going, then!"

 **Starforce** (messing with his smartphone): "Oh, one other thing."

(he shows Julie the app he just pulled up)

 **Ladyhawk** : "An interdiction field?"

 **Starforce** : "Wonder no more. *Somebody* has one around the entire campus."

 **Ladyhawk** (evil smile): "Good. If Sutherland's spending money thinking I'm using teleportation to keep my campaign schedule, it's less money he can spend on other things."

 **Sofia** : "This way, ma'am."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Thank you." (beat, to Starforce) "Time to make some more heads explode, Nerd-boy."

(hand in hand, they run out of the auditorium to the waiting RV)

* * *

Excerpt of keynote speech by Governor David Sutherland (D-MD) at the Century Corps National Conclave, New York City, 9/9/2016

"...In general, you could put half of [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins’ supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that whom she has lifted up. She has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people and now have 11 million. She tweets and retweets their offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric. Some of those people are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America..."

* * *

Tweet by Jillian Hawkins, 9/9/2016

"You called my mom's supporters a basket of deplorables, @Invictus4USA? SERIOUSLY?!?"

* * *

Tweet by Julie Dormyer Hawkins, 9/10/2016

"Wow, David Sutherland was SO INSULTING to my supporters, millions of amazing, hard working people. That's going to cost him at the Polls!"

* * *

(somewhere in Dayton, OH. Nighttime, 9/12/2016)

(Craig 'Mechassassin' Vandersnoot strolls into the abandoned factory in secret identity. David 'Invctus' Sutherland waits for him, leaning on an old workbench. He is still dressed in a suit and tie from a campaign event earlier that evening)

 **Mechassassin** : "Didn't think you did the cloak and dagger thing, Governor."

 **Invictus** : "It's one of the many things people don't know about me."

 **Mechassassin** : "Just as long as your money's the same color as the rest of my clientele, I could care less about your secrets."

(Sutherland smiles briefly)

 **Mechassassin** (continuing): "What do you need?"

 **Invictus** : "At the end of the month, the first Presidential Debate will be held at the big arena on Wright State University, just outside of this city."

(shocked pause, held gaze)

 **Mechassassin** : "You want me to ATTACK a Presidential Debate?!?"

 **Invictus** : "Nothing so gauche, trust me." (beat) "I need you to attack and disable the trailer which the national media will be using to provide television and internet feeds of the debate to the rest of the world."

 **Mechassassin** : "To make up for the "Basket of Deplorables" gaffe?"

 **Invictus** (coldly): "If you don't want the job I can find someone else just as capable to do it."

 **Mechassassin** (smugly): "No, you can't."

 **Invictus** : "Then leave the politics to me. Can you do what I've asked?"

 **Mechassassin** (beat): "Yes."

 **Invictus** : "How much do you need?"

 **Mechassassin** : "$10 million gets you one planned and executed mission, Governor."

 **Invictus** : "And just *how* will you accomplish this?"

 **Mechassassin** : "I don't need to know why you want that trailer taken out, and you don't need to know how I'm going to do it."

 **Invictus** (nodding): "Fair enough."

 **Mechassassin** : "Do we have a deal?"

(Governor Sutherland lifts a briefcase up onto the workbench next to him. Vandersnoot walks up to it, opens it, and discovers a platinum-looking bank card to be its only contents)

 **Invictus** : "Numbered bank account in the Cayman Islands with $5 million to help in any pre-mission planning and recruiting you may need to perform. The balance will be paid to that account upon successful completion of the mission."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Invictus** (raised eyebrow): "Deal?"

 **Mechassassin** (shaking his hand while taking the bank card): "Deal."

* * *

"Blame The Elites For The Ladyhawk Phenomenon", Ben Domenech, _The Federalist_ , 9/14/2016

"...Imagine you are one of the millions of middle-aged unemployed white Americans with a high school degree. There are today 7 million men in prime working age who have dropped out of the labor force – that’s 15 percent, higher than we’ve seen since the end of the Great Depression. And there are millions more who know people experiencing this pain as a brother, uncle, or a son.

"Moved from unemployment to disability, you receive sufficient benefits to subsist – around 1,200 dollars a month on average – and to pay for the alcohol and drugs that help you self-medicate. Your life is essentially one marked by hopelessness, desperation, and anxiety. You are statistically unlikely to ever re-enter the workforce. Alone among all demographics, your likelihood of suicide is rising.

"The things that make life not only endurable but happy are religious faith, now lost to you; family, which is fractured; community, which is disintegrated; and work, which you find hard to come by.

"The TV screen flickers with images of people living lives you could never hope to emulate. Your situation is bleak, and while our soma is better, it is still not a replacement for the pursuit of happiness.

"Your tomorrows look dark. But the past, even the grimy parts of it, look like gold.

"And when a sultry-voiced woman comes on TV, a woman who represents a version of what you might hope your life could be like – a retired superheroine who defies the elites, who is rich and successful, who comes from the world of the elites but is strong enough to reject them and their lies – and she tells you it’s not your fault your life is the way it is. She tells you it’s the fault of immigrants and bad trade deals and wasteful pointless wars based on lies. She tells you the problem with elites is not that they are too conservative or too liberal, but that they are stupid and don’t care about you. She tells you, with confidence, that she alone can make everything great again. And you listen.

"Could Julie Dormyer Hawkins’ rise have been possible in the absence of the parade of horribles the elites offered up over the past two decades? The answer is no. Our elite leadership class sowed the wind, and Ladyhawk is the whirlwind they reaped. Vote for the motion."

* * *

"When Reality Turned Inside Out", Scott Adams, _blog.dilbert.com_ , 9/15/2016

"...You probably thought [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins was the bigot in this contest, until Sutherland called half of Hawkins’ supporters a “basket of deplorables.” That’s the point at which observers started to see a pattern. Hawkins has been consistently supportive of American citizens of all types – with the exception of the press and her political opponents. The main targets of Hawkins’ rhetoric are the nations that compete against us and the multinational actors which threaten us. In stark contrast, Sutherland turned his hate on American citizens. That’s the real kind of hate. Hawkins is more about keeping America safe and competing effectively in the world. That is literally the job of president..."

* * *

(Nutter Center, Wright State University, Fairborn OH. 9/26/2016)

(It's the night of the first Presidential Debate between Gov. Sutherland, Senator Sanders, and Mrs. Hawkins. Julie and Bob are praying in one of the Green Rooms provided to the candidates backstage. There is a knock at the door)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Come in."

(Ted 'Ranger' Jameson and Olivia 'Thelambra' d'Alembert enter. They're both in full kit)

 **Ranger** (to Julie): "We need to talk. Bring your Secret Service detail in, too, they need to hear what I have to say." (beat, to Bob) "If your battlesuit isn't already here or on you, you're gonna need to go get it."

* * *

(Nutter Center. Five minutes later)

(Jason 'Ghostbane' Kayami is patrolling the perimeter of the Nutter Center inside)

 **Ghostbane** (to radio): "Clear so far."

(a familiar-looking statuesque brunette suddenly appears in front of Jason)

 **Ghostbane** (in disbelief): "Olivia?"

(there is a blur of motion by Olivia, and Ted appears next to her)

 **Ghostbane** : "Sir! What are you two doing here?"

 **Ranger** : "UNTIL has credible intelligence concerning a threat against both Senator Sanders and Mrs. Hawkins."

 **Ghostbane** : "Not Governor Sutherland?"

 **Ranger** : "I chose my words very carefully, Jason."

(shocked pause, held gaze. The anvil has metaphorically dropped on Jason's head)

 **Ghostbane** : "What's he going to do against them?"

 **Ranger** : "Not sure yet. He's contracted a mercenary team to take out the media trailer during the debate, though."

 **Ghostbane** (beat): "What can I help you do to defeat them?"

 **Ranger** : "I need the psionic interdiction field around the debate site down in order for Olivia to make Governor Sutherland think that his plan has succeeded." (beat) "Also, I need the mercenaries that are supposed to shut down the media feed from the debate neutralized."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Ghostbane** : "Does Mrs. H. know?"

 **Ranger** : "We just got done briefing her. She sent us to bring you up to speed."

 **Ghostbane** : "Then count me in, sir."

* * *

(Nutter Center. 20 minutes later)

(the candidates are giving their initial introductions)

 **Invictus** : "34 years ago, I was at a party at Dormyer Manor near Dallas." (beat, smiling, to Julie) "I remember you saying that we would see each other romantically when we ran for President against each other."

(beat. There is a restrained cheer from the audience)

 **Ladyhawk** : "I remember that night well, Governor. I gave you two broken ribs and ordered you out of my house when you attempted to FORCE YOURSELF ON ME against my will!" (beat) "That says quite a lot about your political party! The War on Women started all the way back in 1982, and you attempted to make me its first casualty!"

(MUCH louder cheer from the audience)

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Fifteen minutes later)

 **Moderator** (from the TV): "Senator Sanders, how would your tax plan help the middle class?"

 **Relativity** : "TL;DR, it WON'T!"

 **Chrona** : "We know that, but does the general public even CARE?!?"

 **James** : "What I can't believe is that people don't bother to do the math behind Senator Sanders' plan to see just how impossible it is."

 **Jillian** : "Feelings are easy, bro. Math is hard."

(Senator Sanders has finished his reply. The audience at Nutter center responds with thunderous applause)

 **Moderator** : "Mrs. Hawkins, your response?"

 **Ladyhawk** (from the TV): "Gladly." (turning to Senator Sanders) "YOU WANT MY MONEY? DO YOU?!?"

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Ladyhawk** (from the TV): "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!! I *EARNED* it, Senator, providing jobs to honest and hard-working Americans! More than you've EVER done with your life!!"

(thunderous applause)

 **Ladyhawk** (from the TV): "And if by some Godawful contrived coincidence you should actually happen to win the Presidency, I'm taking my company, my employees, their families, and my factories off this planet and moving to the Mandaarian Consulate!!" (cheering interrupts her, which she silences) "ProStar is too vital to the defense of the civilized Galaxy to be taxed out of existence solely to support your destruction of the American economy!"

(awkward pause while the audience at Nutter Center responds enthusiastically to Julie's reply)

 **Relativity** : "You know, Mom could've warned us about that beforehand."

 **Jillian** (deadpan): "I always wanted to see the galaxy."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Ten minutes later)

 **Moderator** : "Mrs. Hawkins, HOW do you justify your body count as a superheroine against the need to show leniency in justice?"

(shocked pause, held gaze)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Excuse me?"

 **Moderator** : "You heard the question, ma'am."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Could you be more specific concerning the supervillains I've killed? Or are you just trying to be an asshole and hoping that the voting American public doesn't notice what you're attempting to blow past them without noticing?"

 **Moderator** : "You've killed supervillains, haven't you Mrs. Hawkins?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Yes. Yes, I have." (beat) "Are there any names you care to drop right now, or are you just trying to score points with your core demographic?"

 **Moderator** : "Revolution X. September 2014." /* "Street Level" */

 **Ladyhawk** : "Ah, him. What you DELIBERATELY fail to point out is that the... individual... in question was an unsanctioned psionic who came *this*" (holds two fingers up almost touching) "...close to setting Dallas aflame in a race riot two years ago. How many people are still alive today because I did what I had to do?"

(tense pause)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Oh, come on. Governor Sutherland put you up to that question."

 **Moderator** : "Mrs. Hawkins..."

 **Ladyhawk** (ignoring the moderator, to Governor Sutherland): "You used to be a superhero, Governor! Don't tell us that you *never* had to make a snap decision like the one I had to make that night!"

 **Moderator** : "Mrs. Hawkins, please do not address the other candidate during your response..."

 **Ladyhawk** (to moderator): "Yet you allow the Governor to do the same thing to me without comment!" (beat, indicates the whole auditorium) "I think we ALL know what that makes *you*."

(she glares at the moderator, who sits silently and fumes while the audience roars their approval)

 **Ladyhawk** (to Gov. Sutherland): "You know, Governor, it occurs to me that you're not upset because a *sanctioned* *superheroine* took the law into her own hands that night. YOU'RE upset because I made sure YOU couldn't use that psionic to force people to vote for you!"

(some gasps and murmurs from the audience)

 **Invictus** (angry): "THAT'S A DAMN LIE!"

 **Ladyhawk** (standing her ground): "Are you afraid that the dead will find you so vile and reprehensible that they *won't* vote for you?"

(the shocked gasps are drowned out by the shrieks of laughter)

* * *

(outside the Nutter Center. Simultaneous with previous scene)

(Craig 'Mechassassin' Vandersnoot, is standing by outside the arena)

 **Mechassassin** (to his mercenary team): "Stand by, people."

(there is a sharp BOOOM!!!" outside the arena)

 **Mechassassin** : "Team! RESPOND!!"

(in an abrupt blur of motion, Ranger appears next to Mechassassin)

 **Ranger** : "I'm afraid they can't, Lieutenant Vandersnoot."

 **Mechassassin** (shocked): "Colonel Jameson?!?"

(before Mechassassin can put together a more coherent response, Ranger knocks him out)

 **Ranger** : "Jason? NOW!"

(Ghostbane lifts the van which delivered Mechassassin's strike team and slams it down on Mechassassin and his commandos)

 **Ghostbane** : "Out for the count, sir!"

 **Ranger** (into radio): "Excellent!" (beat) "Olivia? Production trailer's secure, interdiction field is down. GO!"

 **Thelambra** : ((and not a moment too soon, my love))

* * *

(Nutter Center. One second after Julie's response)

(Governor Sutherland looks over the heads of the moderators at the cameras in back while the laughter and applause dies down. He sees that none of them have red lights on)

 **Invictus** (smiling): "This charade ends NOW."

(Governor Sutherland launches a fireball into the middle of the arena. The explosion's concussion knocks dust onto the now-screaming crowd)

 **Ladyhawk** : "David, have you LOST YOUR MIND?"

 **Moderator** : "Governor Sutherland, please control..."

(Invictus annihilates the moderator's desks at the front of the stage. All three moderators fall backwards into the audience, screaming)

 **Invictus** : "SILENCE!! You journalists are all alike, fucking sycophants who think they can control the people and seek favor from the government!"

* * *

(VIPER World HQ. One second later)

 **Essec** (watching the debate on the flatscreen): "What the *hell* does he think he's DOING?!?"

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Simultaneous with previous scene)

 **James** : "You have GOT to be kidding me!!"

 **Firewall** : "What the HELL?!?"

 **Chrona** (aghast): "Mom, no!"

 **Relativity** : "WHAT does he think he's trying to accomplish?!?"

 **Biomaster** (raising a hand): "Relax, children. Your father's there and backstage."

* * *

(Nutter Center. Simultaneous with previous scene)

(Julie glances at the cameras. The red light on the center one is still lit, indicating it is still live)

 **Ladyhawk** (internal monologue): [[Oh thank God, Ted and Olivia came through! Now let's see what happens]] (verbally, to Gov. Sutherland) "Governor, was it something I said?"

 **Invictus** : "No, Julie." (beat) "When I step out of the flaming ruins of this auditorium in 10 minutes as the only survivor, I'll tell everyone who will listen that it was something in your BLOOD!"

(he reaches out a hand. The air around Julie suddenly gets insufferably hot. Gasping, she collapses to her knees)

 **Invictus** : "On your knees, like everyone else. Beg for deliverance from your nonexistent god."

 **Ladyhawk** (internal monologue): [[CRAP! His prostration power! Unnhh...]]

 **Invictus** : "That's right, Julie, your blood. As in the alien nanomachines the Varanyi injected into it all those years ago. A pity no one ever figured out they could be used to possess people."

 **Ladyhawk** (gasping): "That's... a lie..."

 **Invictus** : "Who could have imagined that the Varanyi would possess you in the middle of our Presidential Debate and force you to attack me!"

(he grabs a splintered board from one of the moderator's desks and slashes at his hands. Blood slowly seeps out of the wound.)

 **Invictus** : "Just so you could put that nanotech into me! So the Varanyi could possess ME and burn the house down!"

 **Ladyhawk** (gasping): "You're... INSANE!"

 **Invictus** : "Oh, my dear and soon-to-be-late Ladyhawk. It doesn't *have* to make sense! It only has to be believable to the public!" (beat) "After all, they're only peasants fit to be ruled."

(he twirls dementedly in the middle of the stage, drunk with the ecstacy of the moment)

 **Invictus** : "And out of the ashes of this last, failed attempt at a democracy will arise a new America! Stronger, purer, refined... an Empire with ME AS ITS RULER! Smashing all who would oppose me..."

(even prostrate on her hands and knees, Julie can't help but to laugh)

 **Invictus** : "Would you mind telling me what's so funny, Miss Dormyer, before I kill you?"

 **Ladyhawk** (panting): "Yeah." (beat, looks up) "Look at the cameras."

(Governor Sutherland instinctively glances toward the back of the auditorium. To his horror, he registers that the red light on top of the center camera is lit, indicating it is transmitting live. In shock, he forgets to concentrate on his prostration power, freeing Julie)

(There is a flare of power as Julie's katana flies toward her hand from backstage thanks to Olivia's TK. Reaching her left hand behind her, she grabs it out of mid-air before pointing it at David's neck)

 **Ladyhawk** (catching her breath as she gets to her feet, dripping sweat): "Congratualtions, Governor. You not only have just commited felony assault on a presidential candidate, assault with intent to kill everyone in the arena, and confessed to treason, you managed to do ALL of those in front of 100 million people! *That* takes REAL TALENT!"

 **Invictus** (raising an arm toward Julie, building up for a flame blast): "Then I'll just have to take my chances with starting a civil war. Die, bitch..."

(there is a sudden gust of wind between Julie and Governor Sutherland, and Starforce blurs into focus directly in front of the Governor. His RKA is swallowed by the forcefield around Starforce's left gauntlet for no damage)

 **Starforce** : "Nice try, Governor, but you need to know something about me."

(his right hand comes up, forcebeam building to discharge. The simultaneous PRE attack scores PRE+ on the Governor)

 **Starforce** : "I'm not left-handed."

(Starforce force-bubbles the Governor twice before he can react again. A tailored 16d6 APx1 Personal Immunity blast can only take the inner bubble out)

 **Starforce** (force-bubbling him again): "I can keep doing this quicker than you can blow through them." (beat, while Governor Sutherland blows through the next bubble and Starforce force-bubbles him twice more) "But hey, if this is how you want to spend the rest of your debate with my wife, I'm cool with that."

(tense pause, finally punctuated by Sofia, Smiley, Curly, and Ghostbane surrounding the tableau on stage. Beat, then the Secret Service details assigned to both Senator Sanders and Governor Sutherland join them in aiming at Governor Sutherland)

 **Ghostbane** (to Gov. Sutherland, holding his hands out ready to grab the Governor's head): "Do you REALLY want me to do this to you again? Because I will." /* 'Nine Tenths of the Law' */

(Governor Sutherland shuts his powers down)

 **Ladyhawk** (to the live camera, pointing to Governor Sutherland with her katana): "America, behold the TRUE face of the Democratic party! Is THIS what you *really* want in your President?" (beat) "If it is, vote Democrat. If not, if you believe as I do that America can be great once again, vote for me and TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!"


	5. Endgame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **warnings** : politics, too many media articles, nowhere near enough action sequences
> 
> * * *
> 
> #### DRAMATIS PERSONAE
> 
> **heroes**
> 
>   * Julie Dormyer Hawkins (AKA Ladyhawk), Republican nominee for President of the United States, disgustingly-powerful ninja with latent powers of temporal visualization
>   * Dr. Bob Hawkins (AKA Starforce I), husband of Julie Hawkins, disgustingly-powerful power-armor wearer/gadgeteer
>   * Dr. Matthew Fuseli (AKA Biomaster), mutant neurokinetic manipulator and reformed master supervillain
> 

> 
> **villains**
> 
>   * Arthur Bolton, Senior Senator from New York and Democratic nominee for Vice-President of the United States, member of VIPER's Council of 30
>   * Sir Edgar Lancelyn Essec, Supreme Serpent of VIPER
> 

> 
> **other**
> 
>   * Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Senior Senator from Vermont, Independent candidate for President
>   * Nathan Hawkins (AKA Relativity), son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, speedster
>   * Laura Hawkins (AKA Chrona), daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, time-elemental
>   * James Hawkins, son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, gadgeteer
>   * Jillian Hawkins, daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, cyberkinetic
> 

> 
> **AUTHOR'S NOTE 1** : Telepathy is denoted by (( )), internal monologue by [[ ]]
> 
> * * *

("A Moment for the Ages", _RealClearPolitics_ , 9/27/2016)

"Future election cycles will find it impossible to top last night's Presidential Debate in Dayton for sheer drama and suspense.

"Just in case you were one of the three Americans NOT glued to a television or an internet stream in sheer disbelief, Democratic candidate David Sutherland attempted to destroy Wright State University's Nutter Center, his fellow candidates, and the audience while the debate was still in progress. Only the heroism of Republican candidate Julie Dormyer Hawkins and her husband, retired superhero Robert Hawkins, prevented a mass-casualty terrorist attack and stopped Sutherland's purported attempt to both subvert this year's presidential election and overthrow the government..."

* * *

("Maryland Legislature Votes to Impeach Sutherland", AP, 9/27/2016)

"Meeting in emergency session this morning, Maryland's state legislature voted to remove Governor David Sutherland from office following his attempted terrorist assault during last night's Presidential Debate.

"Sutherland, currently being held without bond at the Stronghold Supermax Facility in New Mexico, could not be reached for comment."

* * *

("St. Louis Debate Cancelled", _Politico_ , 9/28/2016)

"The Commission on Presidential Debates announced at a news conference today that it is cancelling the scheduled Presidential Debate for the 9th of October in St. Louis.

"This move comes in response to the indictment of former Maryland Governor and Democratic Presidential Candidate David Sutherland for his attempted terrorist assault during the Dayton Presidential Debate Monday night...

"...A decision on whether or not to hold the final debate, scheduled for October 19th in Las Vegas, is expected by early next week."

* * *

("Innocent Until Proven Guilty", _Salon_ , 9/29/2016)

"A plurality of Americans believe that Democratic presidential candidate David Sutherland should still be allowed to run for President even though he has been indicted for attempting an act of terrorism during Monday's Dayton Presidential debate...

"...We may never know for certain what demons drove Governor Sutherland to do what he did at the Nutter Center. All we do know is that America was founded on the principle that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Until it can be proven beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt that Sutherland intended to kill his rivals and everyone attending the debate with malicious intent, he deserves the benefit of doubt."

(note: article was yanked from the Salon website after three hours due to the extreme negative reaction from readers. The reporter whose byline was associated with it took an indefinite leave of absence the next day)

* * *

("The Meaning of Ladyhawk: An American Conservative's Perspective", _Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) – Foundation for Social Democracy_ website, 10/5/2016)

"...Perhaps most important, [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins represents both a repudiation of the liberal demands for conformity of thought, often lumped generally under the label “political correctness,” and a rejection of the “rigged system” that sees one set of laws for the elite and another for regular citizens. “Political correctness” had successfully stifled free discussion of the costs of both legal and illegal immigration. Complaints about the loss of jobs, about terrible crimes committed by immigrants who should have been deported, and about the government refusing to enforce duly enacted laws were silenced with blanket assertions of racism. At the same time, rampant corruption among those connected to the liberal establishment – most shockingly with Hillary Clinton being cleared of charges of misusing classified material when the same facts would have doubtlessly led to the imprisonment of unconnected Americans – opened a path for Hawkins. This was especially disruptive because so many Republican politicians, while ideologically conservative, culturally identified with prosperous coastal, urban elites over the suffering citizens of “flyover” America and tried to enforce the same “political correctness.”

"But Hawkins is no traditional American conservative. She defies much of what the Republican Party had stood for in recent decades. She brought to the surface previously marginalized views within the party. The Republican Party had defined itself with free trade, but in doing so ignored many of its constituents who have seen their solid, working class manufacturing jobs moved overseas. While the Republican (and Democrat) elite pointed to net gains from free trade, the very real negative effects on working class Americans were ignored. Hawkins has also bypassed many of the traditional Grand Old Party’s social issues, like gay marriage and abortion, while still winning the support of the vital evangelical Christian component of the Republican coalition..."

* * *

(Presidential Debate, Las Vegas, NV. 10/19//2016)

(Senator Bernie Sanders has given a long, rambling, and content-free answer on exactly where he expects to find the money for his financial proposals yet keep the federal budget under control)

 **Moderator** : "Mrs. Hawkins, your response?"

 **Ladyhawk** (sighs): "I've already explained tonight why the Senator's faith in the federal government's ability to solve our nation's problems is misguided. I'd much prefer to discuss the impact his proposals will have on a national debt which is one of the greatest threats to our country's existence today."

 **Sanders** (jumping in): "If the rich pay their fair share, it won't BE a problem!"

 **Ladyhawk** (smiling ferally at Sanders): "Bless you, Senator." (to the cameras) "For the benefit of everyone watching, let's go over the numbers on taxing the rich that the Senator is either unable or unwilling to understand." (beat, cheerfully demented) "Let's start with the Senator's top donors, shall we?"

(laughter from the audience)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing): "Tom Steyer, net worth $1.62 Billion. Tax him at 100%. that's 1.62 Billion dollars. Mark Zuckerburg, net worth $35.7 Billion. Taxing him at 100% would only net you 35.7 Billion dollars!

 **Moderator** : "Mrs. Hawkins..."

 **Ladyhawk** (to the moderator, interrupting): "Be quiet. The adults are trying to talk, here." (beat) "Eric Schmidt, net worth $9 billion. Taxing him at 100% would get you by startling coincidence only 9 billion dollars! Sergei Brin, net worth $34.3 Billion. Taxing him at 100% would only net you, oh, 34.3 Billion dollars!"

 **Sanders** (yelling): "WHAT IS YOUR POINT, MS. DORMYER?!?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "I'm not even at $100 BILLION dollars, yet our national debt is approaching $20 TRILLION! I've gone over your wealthiest donors and taxed them at 100%, yet I haven't even DENTED the debt, Senator!"

 **Sanders** : "The rich still need to pay their fair share..."

 **Ladyhawk** (interrupting): "Tax all 536 billionaires in America at 100 percent of both income and wealth and it won't be enough to pay even THIS year's deficit, Senator! Can't you understand?!? The national debt of the United States is currently 105% of our entire economy's Gross Domestic Product! Even if you tax *every* man, woman, child, estate, and business at 100%, our nation will still be ONE TRILLION DOLLARS in debt!!" (beat, screaming) "HOW DO YOU PROPOSE TO MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE?!?"

 **Sanders** (angry, spluttering): "I will NOT stand here and tolerate you lecturing me like a... a CHILD!"

 **Ladyhawk** (innocently, smiling): "What's the matter, Senator? Didn't anyone *warn* you that math was a job requirement for being President?!?"

(thunderous standing ovation)

* * *

("Only Fate Can Save Bernie Sanders", _Huffington Post_ , 10/21/2016)

"...the only thing that can save Bernie Sanders now is the hope that the voting public is smart enough to embrace his agenda for America over [Julie Dormyer] Hawkins'. Given the twists and turns of this election cycle, that is a faint hope indeed..."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. 10/21/2016)

 **Ladyhawk** (in sheer disbelief): "You can't be serious!"

 **Starforce** : "I'd like to NOT be."

 **Ladyhawk** : "WHAT makes the major media think they can dictate what can be shown to the American people?!?"

 **Starforce** : "Half a century of precedent."

 **Ladyhawk** (angry): "THIS IS A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN!!"

 **Starforce** : "And your potential victory is a loss of their control over our entire society."

 **Ladyhawk** : "They can't drop all coverage of my campaign!"

 **Starforce** : "What law says they can't?"

(shocked pause, held gaze)

 **Ladyhawk** : "THEY would drop *all* coverage of my campaign to KEEP me from being *elected*?!?"

 **Starforce** : "Short answer? Yes."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Is there anything you can do to prevent that?"

 **Starforce** : "By this point, all I can do is shut down all evening newscasts. NOBODY will be able to broadcast their message to the American public unless it's to local media."

 **Ladyhawk** (to Starforce): "Do it."

* * *

("Who Is This Ladyhawk of Whom You Speak?", blog post to HotAir.com, 10/22/2016)

"...of all mainstream media outlets polled since the Las Vegas debate, only Fox News carried any stories about Republican candidate Julie Dormyer Hawkins. To NBC, ABC, CBS, CNBC, MSNBC, The New York Times, and the Washington Post, the only national political coverage they ran was for Bernie Sanders..."

* * *

("The Son of Doctor Destroyer Weighs In", _AP Breaking News_ , evening of 10/22/2016)

"Using a technique made infamous by his father, retired superhero Dr. Robert Hawkins tonight blacked out all TV and cable newscasts nation-wide for one hour.

"In a press conference held earlier tonight by his wife, Republican Presidential nominee Julie Dormyer Hawkins, Dr. Hawkins announced that his actions were in retaliation for the alleged media-wide embargo on broadcasting any news about Mrs. Hawkins' Presidential campaign that started after the Las Vegas debate earlier this week.

"'By denying my wife her first amendment rights, our nation's media have blatantly decided to campaign for Senator Sanders. My blackout of their nightly Sanders infomercials is actually keeping them out of a *lot* of Federal Election Commission-related trouble as a result. You're welcome,' Dr. Hawkins responded when questioned..."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Election Night, 8 PM CDT. Biomaster and Clan Hakwins are gathered in the Great Room)

 **Relativity** (landing on the couch complex in the Great Room with chips and salsa): "Here we go, guys."

(the jar of medium-strength salsa appears next to the bowl of chips and the mugs of Dr. Pepper. Bob attacks the jar with the bowl of chips)

 **Starforce** (relieved, taking his glass of Dr. Pepper): "Thank you."

 **Biomaster** (to Julie): "Nervous?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "I haven't felt this jumpy in ages!"

 **Chrona** : "The polls *have* been real close..."

 **James** : "Not any more. I started noticing a late break for Mom yesterday morning in several of them."

 **Jillian** (curled up with a gaming laptop): "It's statistics, bro. Don't trust 'em."

 **Relativity** : "Quiet, guys! They're coming out of commercial..."

(the broadcast fades into the national studio. The lead anchor looks visibly shaken)

 **Anchor** : "Good evening. It is 9 PM on the East Coast, 6 PM on the West Coast, polls are now closed..." (swallows visibly) "...and based on our latest exit polling, we project that Republican candidate Julie Dormyer Hawkins will become the 45th President of the United States. Mrs. Hawkins, a retired superheroine, a captain of high-tech industry for decades, a mother of four, and a prior winner of the World Series of Poker -- now, come January 20th, the first female president in American history..."

(Bob and Julie are staring at the TV in shock as the call is made. They then stare at each other, still in shock)

 **Jillian** (looking at her laptop): "Oh, my God! The current electoral vote tally is 270 to 3 to 3 in favor of Mom!"

 **James** : "Who voted for Invictus after all the crap he pulled at the debate?"

 **Chrona** (looking at the TV): "Looks like the District of Columbia."

 **Relativity** : "And Vermont went to Sanders. Big surprise there."

 **Biomaster** : "Figures."

(Bob and Julie are still staring at each other in shock)

 **Starforce** : "Are you OK, Ninjette?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "I don't know. It's still sinking in!"

 **Biomaster** : "Shouldn't the two of you be heading for downtown and your party?"

 **Ladyhawk** (standing, beat): "Yes. Yes, we should!"

(she extends her hand out to Bob, who takes it and stands himself. They walk off to the Library)

* * *

("The Nation Ladyhawk Inherits", _Politico_ , 11/8/2016)

"Julie Dormyer Hawkins stands bestride America like a Colossus, with an Electoral College landslide from Tuesday's election rivalled only by either of Ronald Reagan's victories. The government she will take over come January 20th, though, lies in ruins.

"Her own party, whose elite made no attempt to hide their willingness to work with Democratic Candidate David Sutherland, detests her. Her erstwhile political opposition is fatally fractured between Bernie Sanders' surprisingly-strong progressive movement that won both Vermont and Oregon and the Democratic party faithful that watched aghast as Governor Sutherland suffered his psychotic episode at the Dayton debate in September. Many pundits and insiders have trouble seeing how she can govern effectively -- if at all -- in the political situation she is entering..."

* * *

(VIPER World HQ, somewhere in the Mbang Mountains of western Africa. 11/10/2016)

(Senator Arthur Bolton watches from the side of the training room as Sir Edgar Essec, Supreme Serpent of VIPER, fences with an agent. It's clear that today's agent is clearly outmatched. After a minute of toying with him, Sir Edgar grows bored and runs him through)

 **Essec** (cleaning his blade as two servants drag the corpse off): "Rather unfortunate, what happened on Tuesday."

 **Bolton** : "It wasn't like I WANTED the office." (beat) "I tend to agree with John Nance Gardner's assessment of the Vice Presidency."

 **Essec** : "I remember what he said very well."

(he puts his sword back into its scabbard and puts his shirt back on)

 **Essec** (continuing): "It also wasn't like you were going to BE Vice-President for very long should Invictus have been elected."

 **Bolton** : "Operation Human Achievement would have been a lot easier if it HAD happened. Now, we've got a living legend about to ascend to the Oval Office, backed up by the Son of Zerstoiten himself!" (beat) "How do you fight THAT?"

 **Essec** : "The old-fashioned way. Tarnish."

(he reaches his hand into a pocket of his sweatpants and hands Senator Bolton a flash drive)

 **Essec** : "Which reminds me. Our tech boffins in Florida and Ohio were very excited about the amounts of theta-boson radiation they detected in their states during the Presidential campaign."

 **Bolton** : "I am a politician, Supreme Serpent, not a scientist."

 **Essec** : "Theta-bosons can be used to stabilize wormholes, senator. I believe this should shed some light on the mystery of how our dear Ladyhawk could seemingly be in multiple places at the same time in spite of your campaign's use of teleport interdictors?"

(tense pause)

 **Bolton** : "She lives north of Dallas, correct?"

 **Essec** : "Lakewood Village, if memory serves."

 **Bolton** : "I'll make sure my contacts in the Defense Department get this information, Supreme Serpent."

 **Essec** : "Do so. It will be such a shame for something bad to happen to her mansion again when we finally make our move."

* * *

(fin)

**Author's Note:**

>  **AUTHOR'S AFTERWORD** : At the time of original publishing, Wright State University in Fairborn, OH was scheduled to host the 9/26/2016 debate in Real Life. I just saw the announcement on Facebook (7/19/2016) that they have now withdrawn from hosting that event.


End file.
